Desperation Bubbles Up

Hard not to see metaphors for daily life in the headlines. As the oil in the Gulf keeps defying attempts to suppress it, so do all the other issues that have erupted as a result of our plumbing the depths of our culture to satisfy our greed. You can't turn around without seeing the results of that and no amount of saying or teaching or otherwise reinforcing "nice" or "decent" behaviour seems to be able to keep a lid on it.

There was a time, within my lifetime, when people considered the issue of a fair exchange as the foundation for doing business. You would sell something for a sum of money or exchange your work for a fair sum and along with that basic exchange would go the assumption that both sides were getting a fair deal.

It's not like that anymore. Case in point; the sublet apartment. There was a time when a person who had to be away from home for an extended period was faced with the choice of paying their rent or mortgage to maintain an uninhabited space in their absence or storing their belongings and finding a new place to live when they returned. Some people would get a housesitter or hire a security service to look after things while they were gone. They would often pay for this service on the understanding that it is significantly more costly to store one's belongings and/or pay for an empty place than it is to have someone checking on these things and making sure they stay safe in your absence.

That's changed.

Suddenly, people who need to be away from home see their empty place only from the perspective of potential "customers" They view their home not as a responsibility but as an asset from which they can expect to turn a profit. I find this shift in thinking discouraging for a variety of reasons.

First, that kind of thinking assumes that only you have value in the world and that anywhere you go or anything you do, your value and your comfort are more important than anyone or anything else. This idea that the priveledge (I cannot spell that word I never will be able to spell that word, get used to seeing that word misspelled.) of living in your house and taking care of your belongings should command a premium. It shows me you think you are better than anyone else.

Second, that kind of thinking indicates to me that you think your very presence on the earth makes you more deserving of payment than anyone else. You want to go away, maybe you need to go away, and you need someone to take care of things while you're gone. You think your ability to have acquired a home makes you superior to people looking for a home in your community? It doesn't. When I have gone on long trips, I have sublet my apartment and I've footed the bill for some of the extras because it is a service to me to have someone take a short-term interest in my long-term home. It allows me to keep my place in the community and that is a benefit to me - I am respectful of it.

Third, it shows me that all you care about is money and that's the saddest thing of all. It used to be these situations were rare - recently I've seen ads for "home stagers" where you are expected to furnish, maintain and show a house while it is on the market and also pay for the privlege of doing so.

I cannot think of anything that shows me the complete contempt we have for each other better than that and it makes me sad every time I see it.

What's next? Going on vacation and renting out your dog?

Most of us have our priorities all wrong. I wonder what it will take for us to wise up?