Maravi

'Zambians have become too materialistic'

'Zambians have become too materialistic'
By The Post
Wed 21 Nov. 2012, 14:50 CAT

It is true that we have become too materialistic as a nation. Consumerism seems to be unbridled or out of control. Everything, including personal relationships, now seem to be determined on the basis of money, material wealth.

Charlotte Scott has every right to get worried about Zambians having become too materialistic. There is truly a problem of materialism in Zambia. Zambians are increasingly stopping to derive pleasure from human relations. Their pleasure seems to be increasingly coming from material possessions.

Friendships, relationships, marriages and so on and so forth are today increasingly being determined on the basis of material possessions.

Some people even think that having a bit of money should buy them a ticket to high national political offices. They think the only thing that should qualify them, more than others, to such high political offices is the depth of their pockets.
Respect in the family and society at large seems to be increasingly becoming based on one's material possessions.

The more material possessions one has, the more respect they are given regardless of their other deficiencies. Marriages are breaking up because of changes or deficiencies in material possessions. Everything seems to be calculated on the basis of material possessions.
And commitment to material possessions is reducing the commitment to other important values in life. In pursuit of material possessions, principles, standards, values and common aims are sacrificed.

And any means of acquiring great material possessions seem to be increasingly acceptable. Even well-known thieves, bandits, corrupt elements are respected as long as they have money. Few seem to care about one's source of material wealth. People who have stolen public funds go around flaunting their loot without a problem. They are reserved a seat wherever they go.

Even when they are prosecuted for stealing, for corruption, they are not short of defenders, protectors. If they are in politics, cadres will be mobilised to escort them to police stations or court whenever they have to make an appearance.

This is surely not a recipe for the creation of an honest, more just, fair and humane society. This is not a society in which an individual can be expected to do well. An individual does best in a strong and decent community of people with principles and standards and common aims and values.
Our moral environment seems to be getting more and more contaminated and devoid of morality, principles and values.

Regardless of the limitations of the society that was created by Dr Kenneth Kaunda and his comrades, that society seems to be infinitely superior to what we have today. There seems to be no comparison between that society and its dignified way of life and the one we have today, the one that has been created over the last 21 years or so. There was much more happiness in that society than there is in today's society - not from a material standpoint, because material things alone don't make for happiness.

A sense of justice, dignity, self-respect, respect for others and love for your fellow citizens also have a great deal to do with happiness, as do moral principles; the feeling of being free, equal and respected and of taking part in the battle for the progress of the world, the world you live in; and working like beavers, shoulder to shoulder with the rest of your people. We today live in a society where everything is solved on a price basis. So when there isn't enough of something, there is speculation.

We hope this situation will not last forever. We hope this situation will come to an end. This unbridled consumerism and materialism should concern us all because it promotes corruption and other abuses.

We believe that the highest level of political thought was reached when some people became aware that no one had the right to exploit others, to rape his fellow citizens and that the fruits of the efforts and intelligence of each human being should reach all others; that man really had no need to be a wolf but could be a brother to man.

The situation we live in today should not be allowed to continue because it is impoverishing our nation in all sorts of ways. Today, people want to live well without working hard. Young people graduate from college or university and immediately want to have very expensive clothes and in very large quantities, a nice flat and car. They have no patience; they don't want to wait and accumulate savings to acquire these things. Everything should be instant coffee-like. What does this lead to? Serious moral decay.

Corruption, prostitution and all sorts of vices quickly win them over. There is very little they cannot do to gain material benefits. They start to consume beyond their earned income. And any consumption that goes beyond one's earned income leads to corruption, immorality and all other sorts of vices. Actually, living beyond one's earned income is a prima facie case of corruption, dishonesty and immorality.

And as Charlotte says, there is need to derive pleasure from human relations and not material possessions - "human relations are very important and they are expressed through people and not through objects; it is not always about fancy things and fancy places".

We are lucky we currently have a president, Michael Sata, and a Vice-President, Dr Guy Scott, who are not moved much by material possessions. Material things don't seem to bother these people much and are not their driving force. Our nation's values can be greatly influenced by Michael and Guy's attitude towards material things if their example is used efficiently and effectively.

In a world plagued by such high levels of materialism, the humility and modesty of Michael and Guy is certainly not a small thing. Look at the way people like Hakainde Hichilema boast about material things all the time! Look at the way some cheap politicians like Geoffrey Mwamba boast about how rich they are all the time! As if this was the highest quality a human being should possess to count for something!

The most important thing in life is to be near and necessary to other people. There are men and women chosen to bring happiness into the hearts of people - those are the real heroes, the real stars, the great people. The important thing is to give happiness to people and to go to bed feeling that you have done some service to the community.

Great material possessions and boasting about how much material possessions one has is nothing. A person who boasts is like a goat that sucks its own milk. And it is said that if a deity begins to show off, just show it the tree from which it was carved. A little humility, a little intelligence achieves more than any amount of material possessions. And moreover, one does not achieve greatness by proclaiming greatness.

So the values being advocated by Charlotte deserve our most favourable consideration at all levels of our society. Those in the political leadership need to pay serious attention to what Charlotte is saying. And those who preach in our churches need to preach what Charlotte is preaching. These values that Charlotte is propagating also need to be embraced and propagated in the family, in the school and everywhere we go.

Labels: CHARLOTTE SCOTT, GUY SCOTT, PF

posted by MrK @ 5:05 PM