I was staring at all the garbage that the kids got for Christmas a few weeks ago and I started thinking about today’s topic. I’m referring to what we (people) like and why we like it. Do my girls like princess stuff because she has a genetic disposition to like princess stuff or is it from environmental conditioning? I have a basement full of trash toys that rarely get used. In fact, the only time they do get used is simply for the sake of the kids dumping the toys out of the storage containers and then they play in the containers. My point is this: Everything is garbage.

I have a nice phone, at least I think it’s nice and I enjoy its convenience but where would we be if it was never invented? Is the cell phone a stepping stone in our evolution? I can’t help but feel that in another 20 years the cell phone will have been replaced and when it is, what will it be replaced with? Could texting replace phone calls? Texting is far more convenient than talking and cell phone reception is still awful and it’s caused us to lose the art of gracefully ending a call. Instead you hang out on the phone and wonder if the other party just hung up or if they’re still there. Maybe that’s just me.

I’ve covered my kids toys and cell phones. The main idea behind what I was considering when I started this post is that there are so many things in the stores and it’s ALL garbage. I know there are research groups that tell the corporations what people like and what they’ll buy but are these research groups right?

Do we like stuff because corporations make stuff or do corporations make stuff because we like stuff?

There, I think that sums up my overall question here. I’m one who doesn’t like stuff. I mean that literally. I prefer having only those things I need (though I’m not perfect in that quest) but not everybody has that same philosophy. I know people who buy stuff for the sake of having it, whether they need it or not. What drives the need to have this extra stuff? Sometimes it seems like we like something simply because that’s what is offered. Is that true? If so, than is this the minimum of what people accept or could we be offered so much more?

I think I lost my topic. I’m just tired of all this trash that surrounds me. I believe that if we hold out for something better, we’ll be offered something better. Instead, we take what we’re offered and that drives the market to continue producing garbage.