Mejia 1!

Jillian Mejia

Prof. Jennifer Rodrick

English 115

7 December 2017

United States of Materialism

When describing the population of the United States to a foreigner, words highly used

include hard-working, fortunate, and free. Most Americans positively exemplify these traits

through their strong dedication to the work force, though a word constantly forgotten in

describing these same people is discriminatory. As the country is excelling and progressively

industrializing even more that it already has, Americans are unknowingly dehumanizing

theirselves as they become more materialistic and caught in their countrys success, wealth, and

stellar reputation. As their continual prosperity is advancing, they begin to lose a sense of

humbleness where the upper and middle classes look down on the lower ones consisting of

numerous crowds such as immigrants, homeless individuals, and ethnic groups who are deemed

as minorities. Though Americans are gradually abandoning their compassionate attitudes and

developing crueler mentalities on their own, they should not take ownership of the full blame

because the space they live in contributes to their personality flaws too. The space a person

resides in can influence them to believe whether or not an object or person is part of the social

normality or abnormality. Because the United States is constantly industrializing and enhancing

their economic system through new products and market innovations, Americans are

progressively dehumanizing as they believe they are superior over the less fortunate, immigrants,

and minor ethnic populations.

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As the United States excels and continues to industrialize through the construction of

modern stores, restaurants, and companies, the market begins to consume Americans as they start

to forget that there is more to life than merely using wealth as a source of happiness. In Keng,

Jung, Jiuan, and Wirtzs article The Influence of Materialistic Inclination on Values, Life

Satisfaction, and Aspirations: An Empirical Analysis, the authors address consumer psychology

and the concern that a strongly materialistic attitude could be considered to be harmful to an

individuals well-being (Keng et al. 318). The authors amplify the idea that in modern day

society, contentment lies in the wealth an individual has. Americans mindset are progressively

becoming more corrupt as they begin to believe that money is the main source of happiness

instead of discovering happiness by investing in loved ones, friends, and themselves. As

American society holds high economic standings opposed to less-developed countries across the

globe, they find that money is genuinely a source of happiness and do not recognize that wealth

creates temporary bliss, not a lifetime one. As the United States carries a high income and is

financially stable, Americans have adopted a mentality that they are superior opposed to lower

income individuals. This attitude is dehumanizing Americans because they lose compassion for

the social classes below them, morally corrupting an individual as they believe they hold a higher

level of importance because they are successful. Money provides an individual with financial

security but it does not guarantee emotional and physical security amongst relationships and

encounters with individuals and the environment encapsulating them. In the current generation

individuals believe that materialistic items advance them to a higher status, but does money

really create better reputation? Numerous movies depict the wars of the social classes, but a 2009

Paramount film seems to do it best.

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In Melanie Mayrons television film Mean Girls 2, the director exemplifies the impact

social class has on an individuals happiness, confidence, and sense of importance in the world.

Wealth plays a large role in determining a persons validity, causing them to believe the less

money they have, the less relevant to the industrial society they are. In the movie Mandi

Weatherly, an arrogant teenager of wealth, and her humble rival Abby Hanover, also of good

money, are in an ongoing duel based on the high costs their parents are willing to spend on them.

Since their childhood, it has been an ongoing contest of who threw the better birthday parties,

wore the better Halloween costume, and had the best parking space amongst their campus. As

these are first world problems, they highly mirror the constant struggles of the modern day

American society and how materialistic items strongly impact an individuals perception of

relevancy. Like Abby Hanover and Mandi Weatherly, citizens of the United States gain the idea

that the more money a person carries, the more important they are since they are capable of

purchasing products wherever and whenever they want. What is not recognized amongst these

characters and Americans is that though money may determine how many items a person may

own or how luxurious their wardrobe may be, wealth does not establish a persons self worth.

Relevancy is found within the heart, soul, and mind, not through our wallets. Individuals of good

fortune may continuously be able to attain their wants, but do not acknowledge that an

abundance of money will not always satisfy their needs of friendship, care, and the emotional

aspects to a person aside from the materialistic ones. Americans have not only lost compassion

for their differences in social classes, but have lost it for minorities such as immigrants due to

their mindset of superiority. As the multi-cultural American population continues to grow, more
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immigrants are looking for jobs to support themselves and their families, though not all are

granted the chance to do so because of unjust discriminatory laws and regulations.

Lack of ethnic-expression rights are a critical issue for immigrants in the work force

because it is considered improper to speak a language other than English under business

circumstance in America. In Joerg Dietz and S. Douglas Pughs journal article I Say Tomato,

You Say Domate: Differential Reactions to English-Only Workplace Policies by Persons from

Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Families, they address the debates between advocates, who

claim {English-only] policies are necessary for the efficient functioning of [an] organization, and

adversaries, who argue that the policies violate workers rights (Dietz and Pugh 366). The

authors write on how claims suggest strict English-only companies result in higher sales,

occupational safety, and a more unified work force. Though, is taking away an immigrants

original ethnic background and forcing them to conform to American normality in order to hold a

career position really unifying? English-only requirements are deteriorating diversity in the

United States as Americans are diminishing ethnic culture in order to satisfy their consumers

with one universal language opposed to offering numerous means of communication to their

potential ethnic customers. Though, one would think by administering workers of multiple ethnic

backgrounds in the work place, the business would benefit because it would appear lesser of a

racist industry and a more accepting one to all cultures. As Americans are losing empathy

toward indigenous groups in the country, their care to preserving native culture is declining.

Though it is great to keep pride in American culture, Americans begin to forget African-

Americans and Latino-Americans are still American too despite the difference amongst their skin

colors.
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The majorly white population that constantly engulfs Americans results in American

society not favoring minorities such as those from African or Latino descent. For generations, the

United States has identified African Americans and Latin Americans as lower-class outsiders

based on characteristics such as skin color, population, and annual salary. Americans are failing

to recognize that these ethnic groups are the main contributors to the industrialization of their

own country and should be the least verbally and physically targeted because they are the ones

who have shaped America into becoming what it is today. Americas lack of kindness toward

minority populations in the country results in people of the minor populations to feel inferior to

caucasians in the country because of their darker skin tones, lower income, and lesser

reputations. In Toms R. Jimenezs article Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Mexican

Immigration: The Mexican-American Perspective, the author exemplifies Latino inferiority as

Mexican-immigrant union members struggle for control of economic and political resources

within the union [and] feel locked out of jobs and union leadership positions (Jimenez 602).

Though Americans are not naturally discriminatory, they are less likely to hire a Hispanic

individual to hold a government position over a caucasian one. Though it is an unfair decision on

Americas part, it is because the land each citizen has been raised on has grown to the

accustomed idea that an American man would remain more faithful to his American country

opposed to a Latino man remaining faithful to a country that isnt his.

It is not Americans alone who have contributed to the downfall of human moral and value

when it comes to determining another persons worth. It is the modernized space they reside in.

As the United States has become overly industrialized and is continuously advancing over time,

Americans are unknowingly getting consumed by the materialistic norms of their current
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generation and forget that people should be respected based on their proper character and

kindness opposed to being judged on their skin tone, cultural background, and income. As each

race consists of a plethora of hardship in history, an individual should not be looked upon for

their ancestors pasts but for their own professional and personal characteristics such as work

ethic, kindness, and moral value. If individuals took a step back and recognized how inhumane

their judgment has become and looked past social class and ethnicity, our society would be more

equal and accepting. The choice, though, remains within the individual as they are the ones who

take the larger attempt to steer away from negative communal influences that may surround

them. Within Americas space lies the existential forms of matter and the organisms residing in it.

Though these organisms may encounter numerous influences that can deteriorate their humble

and humane values, it is the individuals choice to conform or attempt to abandon social norms.
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Works Cited

Dietz, Joerg, and S. Douglas Pugh. I Say Tomato, You Say Domate: Differential Reactions to

English-Only Workplace Policies by Persons from Immigrant and Non-Immigrant

Families. Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 52, no. 4, 2004, pp. 365379. JSTOR.

Jimenez, Toms R. Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Mexican Immigration: The Mexican-

American Perspective. Social Science Quarterly, vol. 88, no. 3, ser. 2007, pp. 599618.

JSTOR.

Keng, Kau Ah, et al. The Influence of Materialistic Inclination on Values, Life Satisfaction and

Aspirations: An Empirical Analysis. Social Indicators Research, vol. 49, no. 3, 2000, pp.

317333. JSTOR.

Mayron, Melanie, director. Mean Girls 2. Megashare, Paramount Famous, 2011.