This is the brief of money,

Plate and jewels,

I am possessed of:

‘Tis exactly valued;

Not petty things admitted.

— Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra V, 1

It’s so amazing how some people place such a high premium on materialism — on possessions, things, things and more things. The more they amass is the more they seem to want, desire, demand. What’s worse, to compound this, they put material stuff above everything else, including human life and the welfare of others.

I’m sure you’ve heard stories of people being involved in car crashes and the first question that’s asked is, “Is the car okay?”

Very few heed the words from the Bible that say, “What does it benefit a man if he gains the world but loses his soul.?!” Now, I’m not waxing evangelical here, for the last persons to speak about material things are evangelists, as many of them rank, oh how they rank, of being among the most materialistic people in the world.

They would require an entire column all for themselves, as the riches that they acquire from the backs of their congregants overflow in abundance. The fancy jets, yachts, fleets of cars, jewellery, mansions, adding more to the materialistic mayhem of our time. So those evangelists cyaant tell me nutten “bout poor and meek will inherit the Earth or easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man enter Heaven.

I’m referring to ordinary folks who somehow get trapped in this vortex of materialism and lose their way. Naturally, it’s the nature of humans to possess things. We all want to live in a nice house, drive a decent car, have some money in the bank, and enjoy the niceties of life.

But some people go overboard with this materialistic madness and get consumed by the very things that they pursue. Materialistic mayhem, that’s my spiel today, right after these prodigal responses to ‘Men stray, women cheat’.

Hi Tony,

It appears that women cheat for emotional reasons. Perhaps there is a lack of attention, intimacy, affection from their significant other. That being the case, it should be easy for the man to know if his woman is cheating on him, as her behaviour will change, being distant, repulsed and refusing to be intimate, as you stated. She cannot serve two masters. Women, for the most part, will show signs of cheating, while most men will not.

Harvey

Good day Mr Robinson,

I have just finished reading your column, spending most of the time shaking my head as I read. The head shakes were not negative by the way; they were more in the line of, “That man not easy.” There is truth in your writing and, unfortunately, the cheating on whatever side has led to lost lives. However, that is not the subject of this email; that article written about you by Robbie Robinson is the subject. It’s nice to know the background of the writers whose material I like to read. Continue to be an inspiration to others in all of your endeavours.

Monacia

Ah bwoy, that article by Robbie Robinson drew so much attention from all and sundry. Lots of folks want to know where my afro went. I had so much hair then. Thanks Robbie, appreciate it, means more than gold.

But you know, these are the gestures that mean so much, which is in stark contrast to what some people hold dear. That’s because it’s becoming more and more apparent that we live in a world of conspicuous consumption, rampant consumerism, materialistic mayhem. It’s not what people need anymore, but what they want, and simply have to have. And they want so much.

Gone are the days when people would work and save, buy a house and be satisfied with their lot. Now they want lots of lots, plus houses with many mansions along with the fancy vehicles to park in the driveway for all to see. We are known, admired and respected not for who we are, but by what we have. “Hey, is a X5 and X6 park up in the yard… him reach.”

There are so many sayings and stories of materialism turning out badly. Remember that poor goose that laid a golden egg every morning? Instead of being patient and waiting for that daily windfall, the people killed that bird in order to get all the eggs they thought were inside.

Then there was King Midas. Everything he touched turned to gold. That famous Midas Touch sounded like a good deal at the time. Well, it didn’t work out so practical for him, as literally, everything thing that he touched, turned to gold — everything.

Ah, the luck of the Irish and their pursuit of Leprechauns, four leaf clovers and that elusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, plus the world’s mad, headlong race to find gold and diamonds brought so much pain and misery to nations and people. They aren’t called Blood Diamonds for nothing.

Do you remember the song Material Girl by Madonna?

“ Some boys kiss me, some boys hug me, I think they’re okay

If they don’t give me proper credit I just walk away.

They can beg and they can plead

But they can’t see the light, that’s right,

‘Cause the boy with the cold hard cash is always Mister Right.

‘Cause we are living in a material world

And I am a material girl.”

There are people who place so much emphasis on material things that it’s mind-boggling. Don’t get me wrong, I like nice things too, but they all come second to people. Do you remember this joke about this lawyer who was in a bad car accident? When he looked and discovered that his arm was missing, he screamed, “Oh no, my Rolex gone.”

This materialistic mayhem is fuelled by many of our stores that encourage people to buy things that they do not need, feeding the dragon of conspicuous consumption. This malady occurs here and in the USA, and curiously, there are racial connotations involved.

For some reason, black people are more than willing participants in this materialistic madness. More that often, as soon as they have two shillings in their pockets, the world has to know. They have to live in the biggest mansions, drive the fanciest cars, adorn their bodies with the gaudiest jewellery. Those huge gold chains are called cargo, I suppose in reference to those massive chains used to moor cargo ships at the docks. That’s my interpretation.

Even our cricketers have been the butt of jokes and ridicule for their love of jewellery that they constantly flaunt. No wonder one commentator had this to say about them years ago, “If they were winning and flashing so much jewellery it wouldn’t be so bad, but they lose so often.” Maybe it’s all that cargo weighing them down why they lose so much. I don’t see that conspicuous cargo being worn by other cricket teams.

What’s interesting is that many other races are not a party to this materialistic mayhem. The Chinese, Indians, Jews, many possess real wealth, but you’d never know. Nothing is wrong with acquiring nice things, after all, life’s creature comforts can be most satisfying. That 55” flat screen Smart TV can be a pleasure to watch and that ride can be sweet. But did you get them for yourself or because you wanted to show off on the Joneses?

That’s another aspect of materialistic mayhem: people embrace it only to impress others.

“My TV is bigger than yours.”

“My mansion makes your apartment look like a matchbox.”

Bling looms in all forms and is but a by-product of materialistic mayhem.

Sadly many people are sucked into this maelstrom because they think that is what defines them. After all, they won’t be respected unless they drive a certain type of vehicle, or live in a certain neighbourhood. “Yeah man, is a Benz Man dat.”

So many men fall into the trap of trying to impress women with what they have and not who they really are. “That woman would never speak to him if he didn’t drive this fancy SUV.” Sadly that often turns out to be true. “Imagine, he had the nerve to show up at my gate in an old bruk down jingbang jalopy… mi just run him”

That’s why some men end up on the wrong side of the law, as they can’t afford the trappings to satisfy that trap and resort to nefarious means and tiefing ways to accrue wealth to get women. Small, medium and large do it, as they beg, borrow and steal to feed this monster of materialistic mayhem.

Is this what we’ve become — women sacrificing lunch money and school book money to buy weave instead? Have we lost our collective senses as we put material things on a pedestal but humanity in the basement? Can one desire too much of a good thing? “What piles of wealth hath he accumulated, to his own portion! And what expense by the hour, seems to flow from him?” — Henry VIII.

Remember, you can’t take it with you. I wonder if those B ible-spouting materialistic evangelists are aware of that?

More time.

seido1@hotmail.com

Footnote: Our football Reggae Girlz have made us all proud by qualifying for the World Cup in France next year. But here’s a little known fact. The genesis of women’s football in Jamaica was actually from some pioneer ladies kicking ball around in Mona Heights. The main person behind this was Andrea Lewis along with Jean Nelson, now a manager of the team. That was back in the late 1980s.

I remember Andrea scrambling around trying to organise practice matches for the girls, even playing against men at the time. It was a struggle and no one took them seriously. Well, giant oaks from tiny acorns grow. As the saying goes, you’ve come a long way baby.