Living in a Ma-material World

I really want to write about this kid who is so materialistic. I swear, all this person ever thinks about is buying this and getting that. It’s as if this person is living in a fuzzy little world filled with stuff (words courtesy of Lorie). But I really couldn’t get into the grisly details, hell, I can’t even tell you if it’s a he or a she. This person might read this, get totally mad and wreak havoc in my life. It’s not that I care about other people’s opinion of me, but I’m in a lot of people’s hate list right now, and I’m not liking it. Again, I really don’t care if they talk behind my back, shred my reputation to pieces or give me the silent treatment. I’ll just laugh at their smug little faces, being the cold-hearted bitch that I am. But then, I am also a friendly user, and more people hating me would mean less I could ask favors from. Who knows, maybe in the future I could use Material Kid’s connections to get a job, a husband or whatever. Plus, I believe in karma.

But I digress. As I was saying (or griping), can Material Kid be any more materialistic? It makes me wonder, if half of the kids out there are as shallow as Material Kid, what would happen to our country? Will they ever pause to think about the poor children out in the streets selling sampaguitas, cigarettes, hell, maybe even their bodies? I mean, a bottle of Material Kid’s designer cologne probably could feed a family in Payatas for a week.

No, I’m not asking them to sell all their belongings and give the money to charity, or abandon their families to live among the vagrants. What I want is for them to stop being so self-absorbed and show even the faintest glimmer of concern for people who have lesser means. And I don’t mean donating for appearance’s sake, or because it seems to be the “in” thing to do. I want the genuine concern, the kind that really springs from the heart. Kusang-loob at taos-puso.

I admit that I am very self-centered. I could be as self-absorbed and shallow. I spend too much money whenever I’m in Starbucks or in the mall. I take the taxi even if I could take the jeep and MRT. But to my defense, I am very much concerned about the less fortunate, especially the children who do not deserve to be in the streets. I would always wonder why God would let these people suffer. And then I would think that I shouldn’t be blaming God, I should be blaming the rich people who has the power to help but remain unmoved by the abject poverty in our country. I should be blaming the rich who have more than what they need but want more. I should be blaming the rich who are becoming richer at the expense of the poor.

And then I realized that I shouldn’t be blaming anyone at all. That we should stop this finger-pointing and actually do something for our country. That we should start being concerned about others, because only genuine service to others can really give us fulfillment in our lives.

Oh my goodness, I have to stop this. I’m becoming more serious by the minute. See, Andi, you jinxed it. Oh well. I guess I really did learn something from Philosophy and Developmental Economics. And of course, St. Ignatius.

Anyway, back to Material Kid. Maybe I just don’t think that they deserve all that wealth. Maybe I’ve seen too much suffering in our country. Maybe I believe in Marx and Lenin when they advocated socialism.

Nah. I probably was only jealous.