In 1965 Mick Jagger wrote the lyrics of the song (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.
Wikipedia reports that the song was a statement about the rampant commercialism that the Rolling Stones had
seen while touring in America.
I wonder how he feels about the rampant commercialism that spans the globe today and must eclipse that which he saw in 1965.
We are bombarded with advertising in the media all day long, it is very hard to escape, even if, like me, you take steps
to do so. Jagger's simple yet profound words get straight to the root of the sinister strategy which advertisers use to
control their audience.
Satisfaction is the key. Advertisers subtly sow dissatisfaction in consumers by presenting idealised lifestyles
and then fool these consumers into the false belief that if they just buy their product, they will be
satisfied at last. It is a despicable industry, sowing fear in people and making them feel that
they are inadequate, then making false promises about their product's ability to make them a better person,
to make them happy. It leads to massive psychological problems as people lose sight of the fact that what
is valuable about them is what they do and who they are, not what they can buy, how slim they are or whether
their hair has enough volume.
The bottom line is, if you try to do it by buying things, you 'can't get no satisfaction'.
I would venture further and suggest that perhaps human beings are not meant to be satisfied.
Dissatisfaction is what drives us to grow and to seek answers to life's mysteries. The problem comes when we try to
assuage this dissatisfaction not by creating and growing, but by consuming.
There is also a misunderstanding between satisfaction (or pleasure) and happiness. I would say that I am never satisfied
but I am very definitely happy. The dissatisfaction drives me forward, makes me want to get up in the
morning so that I can continue striving, not to get something, but just for the love of the work itself. That attitude usually leads to creation and sharing freely - the exact opposite of consumerism which is all about getting, getting things which ultimately are worthless.
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