If it makes you happy..

..why the hell are yo so sad?

There is a growing concern here in Australia that people are
going in less and less numbers to Churches. The number has been
dwindling every year, and even the Prime Minister had to intervene
something about it trying to incite people to become more
religious in a sense. But so far with no effect. And why would it
have any effect? People have found a new Goddess here,
Goddess of shopping, who in turn reports to Goddess of Capitalism.

I am pondering the state of consumerism I have seen in Australia.
I wonder if this is the epitome, the 'face' of Capitalism.
Everywhere you go, people are rushing to buy things, shops,
department stores, street and hallway vendors are omnipresent.
And their owners and sales people make the whole thing look
like..a religion. Yes, the whole thing looks like an undeclared
religion to me, bigger than Christianity or Islam or Hinduism or
Buddhism. It would crush and win hands down against any smaller
ones, Bahaism, Judaism, Shinto, any cults, Taoism, Confusism, or
non believers.

EVerywhere you go, even in smallest of country towns, highways,
land, ocean, air, desert, there are these huge department stores
that are no less imposing than any real church or temples or
mosque; I call them temples of capitalism.

If you look a bit more closely, you will find that they are
indeed architechted like huge cathederals or churches, the ones
you find in Paris or Vienna or Prague or Moscow. Thier arching
roof decorated with modern day arts, pictures of the saints ( the
supermodels), huge pillars that run from ground up to the roof,
escalators and lifts. Multi storeyed, ever full and brimming
glitch, where people go and worship the goddess of capitalism.
Just go out there, you foolish slaves, fill the stores and buy,
buy, buy! Make the goddess happy.

In other words, make the banks richer, keep the Australian
economy floating.There are banks and financial institutions
who keep on their crusade to lend more, make people buy
more.So they are the preachers and fathers and nuns and so forth.

Its true, Australians buy far more than they can afford, I mean
really far more, they are trying to swallow and chew the whole
animal rather than just the bite they can not swallow. They buy
anything, whether they need it or not, 'stuffs' just have to catch their eyes
when they are passing by or visiting the shops, a shine,
a look, a flashback of a tv commercial or something from movie,
something that gets them into a transfix, a visual uplifting,
any of these superficial high would do.

To imagine that their glance here would make a living for a poor factory
worker in a newly popping up factory somewherein China is
kind of wayward imagination,nevertheless very real.

Buying in shops is just the tip of the icebert actually. Apart
from the Goddess of shopping, you have her sister, the Goddess of
Mortgage.The property market has never been hotter. You might
remeber the latest financial crisis brought about by housing
market crashing in the US. That crisis had ripple effects felt
here as well, because the biggest lenders are the same as those
in the states. So there is more to just traditional one race one
blood relation with the Americans. The people are taking loans
that are fives of times more than their annual income, and keep
on paying the loans till they die. Lots of borrowers default and
the financial law is so strict here that when people go bankrupt,
you are basically finished financially, you are simply 'sunk'.
Banks are so aggressive in their marketing that they will lend
money to even the beggars on the streets, so if you have a small
job, there is no problem getting a multi K(000) loan. Forget the
rates, because on the other hand the housing boom bubble is
continuin to grow and still has air for at least a decade. So you
are safe at least for ten years.

So you will see people buying latest cars, plasma tvs, home
theatres and other luxury like buying vegetables in Chinese market,
because the actual costs are hidden so beautifully, who
would care about the crunch that is bound to come, when the
cash is so near, who would be able to last the temptation?

Or you will easily be persuaded into by the real
estate agent that the price of your property will at least have
ten percent more value a year later. When the apple is so near,
who would not eat it, don't blame adam and eve.

Shopping for Generation Y is the most important, its part of
their existence. Whole lot of different 'rituals' are associated
with it. So looking 'sexy', eating out, binge drinking, dating
and even sniffing ( drugs) are the bi products of the same
tree. These are the small gods and goddesses are children
to the same Mother.

With all the fake riches and glamor brought about by this
mindless consumerism, are people really happy? Hardly so. The
social issues of racism, misplaced multiculturalism ( inspite of
global economic expansion, inspite of China joining the WTO),
drugs, broken families are ever growing and eating the Australian
Society from inside out. All the glitch on the outside has not
been able to bring shines on people's faces. If you go out to
those temples of capitalism, you will hardly notice any happy
face, people seems to be mostly alone and in their own world,
totally shut up. It addiction. Everybody is worried about how
long will thier current job last, how they are going to meet the
mortgage and loans. People seem to have very short tempers and
tust, morality and tolerance towards others is declining fast.
You have to adapt to this world to survive and thrive. You have
to be able to be in the game, but at what cost and where it will
lead you is rarely upto you.

Though on the outself it may seem
you are free and in control of your destiny, if you dig deeper,
you will see who controls your every move, your life and even
your thoughts..well have you decided which shirt to wear
tomorrow? And which pair of pants.. I mean which brand..are you
even thinking by yourself..!! How about the set of pants you
saw on Myers the other day, and the pair of boots on David
Jones, the price slashed watch on the MidCity Centre..
Don't you feel it, can't you sense it..someone holding your mind
hostage, and makingyou dance like his puppet? Free world..the
only thing that is free is the air you breath, and thank god
the govt hasn't taxed it yet.

So next time you see an aussie walking down the streets of
Thamel, you can be sure that his vacation is costing him
at least his month's salary, or even more, and that he planned
this as another trip to the moon. It hasn't come easy to him.

I hate songs of Sheryl Crow, but this one she has really hit it hard..
if it makes u happy, it can't be that bad,
if it makes u happy, then why the hell r u so sad!!