Do you think many parents put owning material things over spending time with their family?

Do you think Americans own too many unnecessary things? Do you think if they lived a little less on the expensive side they wouldn't have to work so much? Do you think if they lowered their standard of living just a bit they could spend more time with the kids and less time at work?Do you think many parents put owning material things over spending time with their family?
It's not only Americans who own unnecessary things...it goes for a lot of countries. Yes , and yes.Do you think many parents put owning material things over spending time with their family?
I think all americans [and i am one] should be forced to spend a week in a slum in India.





Then having an SUV, hi-def tv, .etc .etc will not be so important.





The rich get richer...the poor get poorer...it's the american way and i am guilty as anyone
First let me say I am not an American, I am from the UK, born and bred fully English in other words. So anything I say about the USA, will not be meant in a dergatory way. Like thousands I have lots of old Irish Ancestors (sadly now gone), that Immigrated to your Great Land, so in no way am I against the Americans - BUT .... Yeeks, you lot don't half start off a lot of phases that quickly get all around the world. For example, take the advage American Woman (poor thing), she now believes that she can be all things, wife, mother, and full time career business woman. Each one of those 3 mentioned have a hell of a lot more veins spreading off from the main vain, meaning, take being a working wife %26amp; mother, she mostly is the one that has to do all the rushing, the one that has to fit everything in, deal with her work hours, take and collect the kids, do all the housework, the running of the home, and still expected to have not a hair out of place and still be smiling sweetly at the end of the day.





Here over in the UK, and no doubt other European Countries we're just the same too now - we got this idea '' we can be all things'', and of course now we are finding out just how tough it is. Let's look at things logically, we were not all set out with the same goals and ambitions, it takes all sorts of people to make up the world. But we now the ones that are less ambitious feel that we too must keep up - and this rolls over into ordinary things, better dressed kids, better social lives, better homes, etc. We are told all things are obtainable, but to my mind, if this takes the quality of life away from you and being with your family and friends, it is not worth it at all. Plus just where is all this energy meant to come from in the first place. People are burning themselves out literally, and everywhere too not just America.





Maybe I am wrong but these great expectations themselves seem to stem from America first and then the rest of us follow suit. (no offence meant).





Here are two scenario's and though I don't know you at all nor you me, I bet you choose the 2nd one. It's about people generally and I feel it proves the point that we should be as God intended us to be, or at least make our own choice of just how high and far each one of us want to comfortably be.





ONE


A Dinner Party Scenario. A Selection of people have been invited to a dinner party, all from high jobs and high places in socieity. There's a Congressman, a top leading News Editor, A Bishop from Rome, you know the kind of people I mean. How do you think that Dinner Party would go with regards to having gone to dinner in the first place on the principals each person was to relax and enjoy and forget their stressful high jobs. Score 1 to 10. Or how we you feel for entertainments sake if you were a fly on the wall in that room at the time and listened to all that was said?





TWO


Same thing, but this time a person of good breeding, good education, good morals and standards etc, invites their guests who come from all walks of life. We have this time, a middle class person, someone from the lower class bracket, meaning financially struggles is not a bad person in life, we have a wife %26amp; mother again of good morals, but could be middle to lower class, then there's a person from another country and culture, a manager of an up and coming company - but generall all these people are just ording hard working class people. And just for fun, throw in one or two baddies, like a gangster who is out to make money, not really bad at heart but just money greedy, and a lady of the night, yes a Hooker.





Now your that fly on the wall. These guests sit round the table and the laugh and joke about themselves, they talk about any and everything, good and bad, they open themselves up individually to each other. The talk of their childhood, how they were brought up and the really go out of their way to integrated with each other.





What would be your score for them? Which would get the higher vote for you? I know for me it would be this second group of people, if I had been the fly on that wall. Because, these folk will have been their real selfs, half the time as the fly that I was on that wall, I would have fallen off quite a few times from laughing at them and the funny things that they said, other times I would have had to fly off to find a tissue or two to wipes my eyes from tears when I heard just how hard life had treated some of them, and how they had held on and survived. I would have felt the warmth of new friendships starting, I'd possibly have been a little jealous of the love they had for the nearest and dearest. I know who I would choose hands down any time.





So what's this got to do with your question you asked in the first place? I hope your not thinking that but getting the drift of what I mean. For I am saying loud and clear, yes we all have become far to obsorbed in a certain way of doing and having things, jus