Re: Sarah Dion 3/31

Need Vs. Want

First and foremost I do completely agree with many of your thoughts and statements that you have articulated. In general when it comes to what humans need only a small handful of things come to mind such as shelter,nutrition (food), and a sense of well being (social interactions etc.). However in America, our culture promotes that we must or should purchase immaterial items that honestly, we do not need what so ever. For an example what is the point of purchasing something that you do not need such as a pair of $200.00 Oakley sunglasses. It is true that these sunglasses may last us a couple summers and springs and they may be durable, but what if they are not? Could you purchase a cheaper pair of sunglasses of a generic brand that would be of the same quality? Truly humans do have the ability of choice but mostly will try to keep up with society in an attempt to be trendy or with the fashion period. Again I know personally many people who drive a car that is worth over 50,000 dollars and what is the point of having a car of this worth. The same goes for the car as for the sunglasses. The car may be extremely luxuriant and spacious but at the price of what? Sometimes I believe that certain individuals have more of an egotistical personality when they have to have the best of everything. Having the best car,clothing, watch, and even the best suits (Italian Imported leather etc.) is so important to them because they have to only settle for the best. But why not settle for average, middle class, but having all of the money that could be saved up safely in a savings account to secure a successful future and even retirement? The reason why is that Americans have been brainwashed by society, being deceived into what they don't need is truly something the "normal" human being does need. It can be confusing most times but society in the United States will not change for a small population of human beings, thus staying constant until the end of time if that does exist.

Q:Is it possible that language is shaping our view of the world? Or could we just be shaping language?

To answer both of your questions, I believe that us as humans are shaping language to communicate easier with multiple ethnicities. For example from the early neolithic ages, the neanderthal (caveman) used to communicate with each other through body language, which was successful for the time age. Moving even later into the future, our language of English derived from "Germanic" tribes (Germanic language etc. if I am correct and even before, Latin. so in general, we as humans have shaped language (personal opinion) if that has answered your question