So I get to work this morning and I'm listening to the office dads talking about their experiences at amusement parks -- most notably, Universal Studios in Hollywood, and Disneyland -- and they're discussing the prices, which are astronomical enough.
But then they're discussing the additional fee for the fast passes/head of the line access.
I am sickened by all of this.
Yes, the parks are crowded, and I won't go to them any more because of this. There are too many people (paying far too much money, in my opinion).
It's the pursuit of instant gratification that irks me so.
I'm not totally above it, because I have my own impulsive nature, but at least I recognise it, and I am also aware of the surrounding limitations (budget, space, time).
The get-it-all-now mentality has been present for at least a generation, perhaps a little more, but I am just ill at how it has descended presence into pervasion.
And the really sad part of all of it is that I don't know that there is anything I can do about it, not even influentially. We as a society are hurtling more pell-mell than ever down this road with the attitude of "well, if I can't have it now, then screw it!", and all I can do is endure, and be patient, and not be so instantly demanding.
One could argue that at the truly good things will be there for us. I don't share the optimism, because the truly good things will be sullied by the runoff from the mire created by the seekers of this instant gratification.
The problem is that instant gratification is motivated by pure greed, or by fear of missing out -- which is, of course, a false panic created and manipulated by the greedy. Solutions looking for problems.
The best I can do is implore anyone who is caught in either the fear or the greed:
• Please, slow down.
• Life is not an emergency -- if it is, you're doing it wrong.
• If you are used to getting everything instantly, you are setting yourself up for major disappointments when you get older.
• If it's all about the money, you need to reset your priorities -- you won't be able to eat money after you've fucked the rest of the world.
Upon reflection just prior to posting, I realise that I am speaking from a very privileged point of view, and it may come across as arrogant, for which I apologise, for such was not my intent. I still think that the world needs to slow down, and it's despairing that this will not happen until a cataclysmic event causes the world to just stop, but between then and now, no matter your place or any other separation, take the time you can to enjoy what you can, when you can.
...and I'll stop now before I ramble off the rails any further than I have already.
