A Timeless Message

"Whenever Vanity, and Gaiety, a Love of Pomp and Dress, Furniture,

Equipage, Buildings, great Company, expensive Diversions, and elegant Entertainments

get the better of the Principles and Judgments of Men or Women there is no

knowing where they will stop, nor into what Evils, natural, moral, or political, 

they will lead us."

~John Adams~

     

     John Adams wrote this very longwinded and complicated sentence in a letter to his wife Abigail Adams.  Language and writing styles were very different then than they are in current times, but their correspondences with each other have the same casual feeling as an email or a text in 2016.  Despite people nowadays not using words such as "pomp and dress," or "equipage," in casual writing, the issue that the Adams couple addresses has rings of truth in the modern setting.

     When I attempted to deconstruct this quote from John Adams, I took away several messages.  However, the most prominent was that a materialistic people and society will focus on the superficial things in life which will eventually be seen as superior in the eyes of the common people, leading them down the wrong path.  People are easily influenced by those around them, causing people to value physical things that are unnecissary to every day function. Those with a copious amount of goods tend to become vain and eccentric, always wanting to show off their affluence.  These people not only look down on those with less, but people with less material wealth begin to feel jealous and desire the same "success" as the others.  Materialistic people often become the elite and powerful in societal rank and politics throughout history, and in modern times it can also be incorporated into the workplace and schools.  People who place self-worth on the amount of goods they have typically are not deserving of or suitable for a leadership possition.  It is difficult to see how others see once materialistic values take root.  There is no knowing in which direction the common people will be lead if they are not treated equally and alongside those who hold power.

     Materialistic people do not genuinly care for the success of all.  Rather, they care for their own personal gain.  These people can be seen as standoffish due to feelings of superiority as well as jealousy from the other side; or, these people can be put on a pedestal and idolised due to their success.  This power trip giveseople the ability to manipulate and falsely lead the common people into something that is not as it seems.  Many politicians, in both the time of John Adams through the Presidential Election of 2016, can be seen as the elite, materialistic, and vain.  It is difficult to find a leader that will place their own personal opinions aside to think of the betterment of all people.  Materialistic and moral do not typically coincide with each other in the sense of politics throughout history.

     Materialistic leaders will lead people to believe that their way of life is superior few to having more things to boast about.  Tangible results are placed over spiritual and emotional results.  Many people can seem to be happy on the surface, but are lacking the true sustiance of life.  A person can put up the facade of a perfect life, when in reality something is missing.  For example, a couple can be in an unhappy relationship, but stay together since they already have material happiness.  People may look put together since they have such a copious amount of things to be happy about, but lack something that truly makes life worthwhile.

     John Adams may have made is message very overcomplicated, but with some critical thinking, his message can be seen as timeless.  Materialism and vanity never go away, especially with people who are seen at the top of the pillar of success.  However, Adams sparks thinking that will lead to the realization that no one is truly happy in a society that values tangible success over anything else.  While Adams may have been writing specifically about politics at the time, his message can apply to everyday life in both the past and the present.

Richard Cory

by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Whenever Richard Cory went down town, 

We people on the pavement looked at him: 

He was a gentleman from sole to crown, 

Clean favored, and imperially slim. 

And he was always quietly arrayed, 

And he was always human when he talked; 

But still he fluttered pulses when he said, 

"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked. 

And he was rich—yes, richer than a king—

And admirably schooled in every grace: 

In fine, we thought that he was everything 

To make us wish that we were in his place. 

So on we worked, and waited for the light, 

And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; 

And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, 

Went home and put a bullet through his head.