MATERIALISM
https://steemit.com/steemitdotcom/@arinze
Yesternight, someone asked me if I believe that all women are materialistic. I gave her my thought and felt the need to write on it.
Men complain about the material tendencies of women. Young men in their teens, 20s & 30s who have no compelling responsibilities complain the most. “All women are materialistic”, they say.
Men imagine all women to be materialistic because they ask them of money and other material things in quick succession and they feel burdened by these requests hence these complaints.
But I do not think women are materialists, rather humanity is a materialist or at least most human beings are. But then, who is a materialist in the true sense? To what extent does a person act and you call him/her materialistic?
A materialist is nobody but he/she who wants more than he needs. A materialist is nobody but he/she who has no higher claim, no aspirations, no other considerations than the desire and pursuit of material substances for their own sakes. He/she asks one question of every project, as Emerson would say “Does it bake bread?”
The man goes out everyday to make money to enable him meet up with the basic needs of life. He even desires to make surpluses so that he can acquire comfort. In this pursuit of surplus, he employs crooked means and even be willing to eliminate anyone who would stand on his way. In all of these, he does not see himself to be materialistic.
Similarly, the man does not see the woman to be a materialist, who pursues money day and night in her own trade/business and does not ask him of money to gratify her own desires. In fact, he calls her all sorts of fine names. “She is independent; she is hardworking; she is reliable; etc” the man says. He struggles to keep her by his side and fancy her to be a ‘non-materialist’ because she does not depend on his money, even though she is superfluous in her spending and appearance.
On the other hand, the man has a girlfriend or a wife who depend on him for almost every material things, though her requests, if properly evaluated will be found to have minimal financial implication and be less frivolous compared to the independent woman’s, the man still calls her materialist(ic).
It seems to me that most men call women materialist only because women depend on them. It pains them (men) that the women take so much from them, and they use the ‘materialist’ word to express such pains. Let the woman device alternative source of income and the materialist word would varnish from his lips and be replaced with fine adjectives like ‘independence’ and ‘hardwork’.
Therefore if the severest truth be told, the man is as much a materialist as the woman, no, he is more materialistic than the woman. He acquires and hoards material possessions and uses the materialist speech to shirk from his responsibilities to the woman so that he can keep his materials to himself. This is materialism plus selfishness/stinginess – a greater vice. Some men even go out of their ways seeking women with material means already so that their financial struggles in life will be ameliorated: this is a shame to his manhood, yet he calls some girl somewhere a materialist. Hmmm…THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK.
Let a man be faithful to his truth. If he is appalled by material inclination, let him take a firm stand and shun superfluity wherever it is found – be it in the expression of the independent woman or in the expression of the dependent one.
A man is a man; he should not dodge his responsibilities. Moreso, he should not paint materialism with fine names because they help him escapes his responsibilities the more. The fight against materialism should be for higher claims – spiritual perception, righteousness, virtues, and the likes – and not for freedom from responsibilities and accumulation of more materials.
Does it seem to you that all women that come your way are materialistic, then you are a materialist for sure. “Birds of same feather flock together; whatever a man sows that he shall reap”, these are guiding principles you must bear in mind.
Mind your business a
nd stop branding, stereotypically, people as this or that. Strive to possess the ideal qualities you want to see in others (women) and no doubt, people of similar qualities will gravitate to you.
