a rare political moment.

so we sort of have cable now. i say sort of because we split our cable internet line so that we could get ESPN for football games. since it's a pain to hook it up and unhook it, the husband has left it permanently attached to the TV in the study. we used to have only 1 TV - which was more than enough. now we have 2 because the previous renters of our house left their TV behind.

today, i found myself watching 'the rachel zoe project'. before today, i had never even heard of this show. it's about a famous stylist named rachel zoe. her whole job is to run around selecting clothes and accessories for famous people to wear to their various functions. her whole life is fashion - which i admit - sounds rather glamorous and fun (after all, i love to shop as much as the next fashion oriented female).

i spent about 2 hours watching the show - stunned into silence at the sheer vapidness (vapidity?) of the people around which the show centers. i don't know why i was surprised - a quick swing through all of the other cable channels reveals shows like 'i love money' 'jerry springer' and anything on MTV (notably 'the hills').

sometimes i hate our culture. not capitalism mind you, i believe in the free market. materialism is what i hate. no, it's not even materialism. it's ok to want things. it's this sense of...self-centered narcissism and entitlement. the people in this show - all they think about is themselves, their immediate wants and desires. it was epitomized by rachel zoe herself saying something along the lines of "i buy what i want, that's what credit cards are for - it's not like i'm paying in actual cash." that statement is the acme of what is wrong with our country currently - the most succinct explanation of why freddie mac and fannie mae and all of this other financial ruin is occurring. we are a country living on easy credit - with high expectations. we think we should be able to have it all - and have it now. no one saves anymore, no one exercises good judgement (i'm making a generalization here - though not a sweeping one).

our country has a sense of entitlement - that we should all have equal wealth, equal status, equal equal equal. if you listen to obama talk about wealth redistribution, you hear it.

that's not how life works. life is not equal. life is not fair. life is not about being entitled to anything just because you exist or because you live in america.

this is a rant, and it's a poorly written one with probably little logic or explanation.

my point is that we are not entitled to anything. we are lucky to live in a nation that was made for us long before most of us were even born. we are lucky to live in a wealthy, free society where we can work for and earn anything we want - work being the operative word.

but no one sees it that way anymore. everyone gets a credit card and spends until the limit is met. then they obtain another...and do the same. they buy houses they cannot afford, cars they don't need and cannot afford, and elect politicians that promise "redistribution of wealth."

i hope by the time this becomes a totally socialist/communist society where everyone is equal and the government runs everything (because government does such a great job at the DMV) that i'm long dead.

i fear i won't be.