Alexandre

Since man started living in groups, back to our earliest forefathers, his relations were based on inequality. A small group has always triumphed over the majority. With the creation of our modern societies, these situations of inequality have increased and differences between rich and poor have become even more striking. The unfortunate ones are working in inhuman conditions to provide the goods that sustain the overconsumption of the others. The industrial and technological development has brought incredible discoveries. Some have been very good for our society, such as medical discoveries, but some others have led us to an “overconsuming - fastfood dependant – social networking addicted - polluting” society.

"There are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less."
G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

This quote is meaningful. It represents this desire to possess that we all have. We buy more and more every day and we throw away our “old” stuff to replace it by newer one. This mass consuming makes me wonder if buying things makes people feel more alive. Do they need to consume to be happy? Does consuming fill a hole inside them?

One important question remains: Has the human being become a product we sell and buy every day?

I don’t have the perfect answer to this question, but I believe that overconsuming as led us to a mass of people that are all different and identical at the time. We all have the same desires and we all follow the same path to fulfil them. We all live our life as if it was a treasure hunt, looking for a “treasure” that will make us happier, but sometimes what we really need is right before our eyes.

Human kind has so many beauties to offer, from a baby’s smile to an artist’s painting. We see beautiful human creations every day, but some people just can’t seem to appreciate all of these. The only thing we must certainly do is appreciating what is given to us and living life to the fullest. We desire a lot, but we have to appreciate what we already have to be happy. We should live one day at the time, enjoying every moment, because tomorrow will be entirely different.

I therefore believe that our society has many problems and that we have to take action to solve them. Humanity is capable of miracles and should be spreading joy around the world. Every one should be eating enough and living under a proper roof. We should work together for a healthier and happier world.

« Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean. »
Ryunosuke Satoro