Forum Post: On Greed

Greed is one of an array of aspects inherent and natural to the human condition. It is in all of us and exists within people at different intensities that vary based on multiple factors including internal mood and thinking states, and limits created by others and society as a whole.

It should be recognized that much of greed is normal, healthy and productive. It provides a drive to work and benefit one’s self and society - it increases both the individual and public good. This range of greed needs to be maintained and promoted as an inherent part of any functioning and progressing society.

However, it also needs to be recognized that past a certain level, greed becomes a corrosive toxin that ,like so many other aspects of the human mind, rises to levels that is destructive to both the individual and the society. Every great book of spirituality, every great book of morality, every great book of ethics, every great book of the mind clearly dictates that excessive greed will destroy our minds, our society and our spirits. The seductive tenants of greed are against both the religions we hold true and the societies we hold dear. In that form greed is a bottomless pit, driven by an addictive and gluttonous appetite. The drive to take, steal, hoard becomes irrational, but relentlessly presses on. Worse, like any addict, those who are addicted to their greed become blind, and refuse to recognize their problem despite massive personal and societal problems that are created.

It is clear that within this nation, greed has surpassed this line of rationality. Greed without limit drove men and women of the banking industry to make incompetent and short sighted financial decisions that brought this nation to ruin. Unfortunately, like many addicts, trying to help them financially did not bring insight and promotion of good works. Just as an alcoholic will always consume the cocktail in front of him and ask for more, Bankers have wasted the bail-out bestowed upon them by our society on million-dollar bonuses and to continue to pursue excessive policies in the realms of irrational greed. These include excessive veiled costs taken from citizens and members of the armed forces, unfair and dangerous manipulations of our stock markets, illegal and unjust home foreclosures (as those being foreclosed on are actually less culpable of financial incompetence than the banks themselves), and refusal of loans to individuals, small and medium sized businesses. Instead they hoard trillions in their vaults, unproductive wealth that is dearly needed to circulate within the society like lifeblood in a desperate time.

This voracious hunger has risen to the level of being dangerous and destructive to the society as a whole. However, as with all addictions, while it is obvious in the light of day that this is a problem, it becomes the job of addicts to both obfuscate the extent of their pathology and use their existing finances to continue to fill their cravings. With their wealth these groups have bought teams of lobbyists to alter existing law and also buy politicians to promote their positions and paralyze the normal functioning of our government. They twist logic, promote infighting and confusion to hide their unethical and often illegal behaviors. They own entire networks that shout confusing and venomous rhetoric to paralyze the body politic.

This rampant greed must be put in check. Waiting for those addicted to spontaneously see reason is as irrational as letting an alcoholic get behind the wheel and hoping things will be ‘all right’. We the people of this nation must join together, think together and enact together to stop this destructive process from continuing. It is scary to know what has befallen us, the depth of the problems, and what lies ahead. There is an urge to hide our heads in the sand. However, delay has proven to only make those addicted even more gluttonous and entrenched. Many fair and reasonable measures can be taken that may curb these dire problems, but they must be conceived, considered thoughtfully and enacted. It is a cause worth fighting for.