Fame and fortune

July 19, 2014

Oh, to be rich and famous.

There was a time when the American dream was freedom of religion and speech.

Then there was a time when the American dream was indoor plumbing and a telephone.

And then there was a time when the American dream was a three-bedroom ranch style house in the suburbs with a two car attached garage, wall-to-wall carpeting, and a dishwasher.

Nowadays the American dream is your own reality show.

It is human nature to always want more. No matter how good we’ve got it, we can always think of something that would make our circumstances better.

I’m as guilty as anybody.  I like my house. It’s comfortable and has enough space for our small family.  We have a big fenced back yard shaded by mature trees.

And yet, I’m constantly daydreaming about what changes I’d make to it if only…

I’d add an attached garage, remodel the kitchen, move the front door, put in a patio, refinish the basement, install central air conditioning…

When I get bored daydreaming about all the changes I’d make to my house, I move on to the local real estate listings.

I currently have my fantasy houses narrowed down to three – the fixer upper, the move-in ready, and the gorgeous house with the small yard.

It’s a tough choice that I agonize over.  I’ve literally lost sleep over the decision.

Except we aren’t moving. We aren’t even kind of considering it.

The truth is, we are happy where we’re at.  We are living a great life in a great location with a great plan to have the house paid off in the not so distant future.  So why am I lying awake at night worrying over a decision that we aren’t even making?

Americans are particularly guilty of this.  We are spoiled with too much – too much wealth, too much land, too much food, too much technology – too much of everything.

We are so accustomed to getting everything we want that we don’t know how to be happy with what we have.

We watch “reality” television and imagine how great it would be to live like that.  We hate reality stars, but we also envy them. 

Oh, to get paid to shop in designer stores and party in Vegas.

Somehow we’ve convinced ourselves that enough is never enough. 

Being rich isn’t good enough.  We also must be famous.

People actually keep track of which celebrities have the most Twitter followers.  It’s the “Most Popular” title in the high school yearbook run amok.

I am personally ambivalent towards fame and fortune.

Sure, it would be fun to be able to buy whatever I wanted.  But at what price?  Ask the celebrities who passionately campaigned for laws against paparazzi harassing their children how great fame is.

What makes us think having more would make us any happier?  Does it work for celebrities?  They seem to have more problems than most of the people I know.

What’s wrong with being a regular person, anyway? 

What’s wrong with my quiet little house, in my quiet little town, and my quiet little life?

The answer, of course, is nothing.

This article first appeared in the Lewistown News-Argus and the Sidney (Mont.) Herald on July 19, 2014.