Have you ever noticed that depending on what we are told (fed) by the media, and what circle of life someone comes from, determines how we 'judge' people. An example popped into my mind only this morning. We judge bankers and their pay / bonuses based on what the media have told us they are all about. Surely no one should earn this kind of money, no one deserves such financial remuneration for ANY job they do surely.
However at times like this we seem to completely overlook sports. With some sports personalities taking tens, if not hundreds of thousands of pounds home a month. What in gods name justifies that? Its a sport, surely if they love the sport, they would do it for a tenth of what they earn. But no, we constantly hear of multi million pound transfer deals. All the while there are some of these people who are apparently worth millions that dont even perform.
I guess what I am getting at is, there are good and bad examples of people earning a shocking amount of money annually, and its all about how we perceive them. Negative press gets the mind thinking, then any example put before us is tarnished with the story we heard, and all persons associated with this activity is tarred with the same brush and judged as not worthy of their money.
'The root of all evil' is still to date the best description of money, with religion tying for first place. Put the two together and suddenly there is a disaster on the horizon. We would all love more money, seemingly even the wealthy would go a long way to make a little bit more of the stuff. Tax evasion, dodgy investments, and selling their soul and privacy, just for a bit more money. While others scrimp and save just to get a break from the daily grind.
While us normal people carry on our day to day lives, there is a whole other league of people who live very different lives. And if you look closely you will notice that money indeed cannot buy happiness. Depression, addiction, and violence. Regardless of how much money you have, you can and in fact are probably more likely to be affected by the above. With money comes attention, and with attention comes expectations. once again led by the media, we are bombarded daily with stories about affairs, diets, drunken behaviour and other boring facts about people in the media spotlight. Once the spotlight is on you, you are expected to conform, and live up to the persona that has been created for you. Subsequently these people go to extraordinary lengths to please, and as they are lifted higher and higher in the air by the media, only one thing can possibly be coming next.
Except for a very small group of A-Listers, anyone who takes this journey will eventually take a fall, and usually a big one. Once they do this, daring to do something that normal people do every day, they are portrayed as bad people and scum, and 90% of the people who once whooped and cheered when they saw the said celebs, will now boo and hiss. Again, we do this because we conform in some way to an unwritten rule that says we should behave the way the media tells us to. Very few people ever bother to clarify a story, we just read a headline, and respond in the way that the story was written dictates we do.
I for one sure am glad that I am not famous, wealthy or influential in any way. A little more money would not go amiss, being able to settle up some bills and accounts would be nice. But my life is driven to survive and exist. To better myself and experience things before I reach my expiry date. I don't have to conform to any particular way of life, and have many choices of direction. OK I have to abide by the laws of the land, but other than that, and any physical constraints im a free man to live the way I choose. Something a lot of people will never experience. Money is one thing, freedom is a totally different thing.
One of the amazing positive things the media have done over the 12 months is reported, inspired and assisted the Arab Spring. Seeing stories like this bursting through restores faith and believe in the power of the media, and is a great example of what such a body can achieve. Personally, watching the stories unfold, and seeing the passion that they were reported with made me realise that I am actually quite lucky. The UK government is far from perfect, the country is ravaged by the recession, but look around you... Good public transport, education, facilities etc. We have so much that we take for granted. Being able to write this blog and say what I think of individuals is something millions of people will never had the right to do.
All the above opinions are made by a pretty normal guy, having a pretty average day. Take each comment and opinion as you will, feel free to mock or object, but remember whatever you do, look at the bigger picture next time you read a story in the news, and ask yourself.... Do I really care?
