Luxury Vs. Necessity: What You Want Isn't Always What You Need

Have you every looked around and thought about what you have? Everyday we depend on man-made objects and services that not too long ago were not available at our beck and call. Our necessities to survive consist of the three basics; food, water, and shelter. For hundreds of years, our
 ancestors hunted for food, drank water from rivers or streams, and found shelter in the nearest cave or under a well covered tree. Now, in the present time we have people that their daily job is farming or hunting in order for someone else to collect the food then someone else makes the food presentable then someone else packages it then someone else ships it and in turn all we have to do is walk into a grocery store, pick up what we want and purchase it. Same goes for water, we have man made machines that filter out the water to make it clean for drinking and it is either fed into our homes through pipelines or bottled and purchased at the same grocery store. As for shelter, construction workers and other such people build our homes so we can purchase them.

The three basics of life have been handed to us on a silver platter and there is more that we are used to and expecting of this country and its companies.

I work for a very large company that provides satellite television service. Television is a luxury item, it is not a necessity, but everyday I speak with people who make the common phrase; "I need my television" or "What are my kids going to do without any television"? This angers me to no extent. You do not need television. Televisions became commercially available in the late 1930's and if you think about it, that wasn't too long ago. Televisions have assisted us in learning, keeping us up to date with current events, as well as causing our population to depend on a talking picture tube box to baby-sit our children and teach them the morals and or not so moral lifestyle that they should or should not be living.

Related information
Televisions became commercially available in the late 1930's.
 
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that is soooo trueee... I defintely agree with ya... peace

Posted on 04/19/2009 at 11:04:54 PM

I agree with television, since it doesn't bring is the true needs in life. However, things like cars, gas and electricity are true needs. That is because I cannot make it on time to work everyday if I walk or take public transportation; if being late it being kept up i will be fired making me lose my true needs in life on money (which brings food shelter and clothing). Gas and electricity are needed, again to do my job, if they don't exist, I cannot do my job, making my job worthless; therefore they are needs. Finally, the TV may not be a need for me, or all of your customers; but the TV is a need for you. Without the TV you wouldn't have a job or else you would have nothing to sell. You overall point of extreme difference between luxury and necessity may not be so clear once you take into account whose point of view is it that truely needs it. If you walk to work everyday fine you may not need a car, but if you drive an hour and half to get to work, you need a car.

Posted on 08/02/2008 at 4:08:26 PM

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