"Delayed gratification is simply no longer the norm in the United States, and people no longer seem to think there is a moral or ethical
duty to exercise the restraint to actually wait until one can afford to pay for
non-essential goods and services with cash before purchasing those items.
Consumers today want the immediate gratification associated with having
goods and services, and with having those things now. Indeed, many now
argue that the United States no longer has a culture of thrift and, instead,
has a culture of debt fueled in large part by these changed. "

-A. Mechele Dickerson: Fordham Urban Law Journal

After examining detailed articles about the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the overall credit crisis that's been facing our nation since the mid 2000s, I've decided that American's are impulsive idiots. While some people were generally naive and fell into the traps of greedy creditors, many were just striving to get a house that was far beyond their means for the same greedy means. This is indicative of an attitude that many modern Americans fall victim too, wanting a lot for a little. Generally speaking, it is never a good idea to trust anyone who is willing to give you a lot for a little.

It's interesting to examine consumer attitudes and ethics in correspondence to examining the current situations surrounding us. A lot of the books I've been reading on consumer ethics explain that our norms have changed and that people are wired to want instant gratification. It's this shift in mindset that is leading to the current credit crisis. I think everyone that is reading this right now can agree that they've fallen victim to instant gratification. You know that you shouldn't spend that much on the thing popping off of the Target shelves you never knew you needed before, but you do anyway. It's such a deal! You'll probably never use it, but damn it you saved money. It's a trick. Advertising works because we spend time day dreaming and fantasizing about products we want but feel we 'need'. Things that are not necessities become things we feel will better us in some way, a luxury that will improve our standard of living. Most of the time it has nothing to do with your standard of living, which ideally should be real interactions with friends and family and the world around us. Physical, tangible, emotions and people and places. Our focus has strayed from what we do to what we have.

In the end of the day natural disaster and mother nature, as evident in the current situation in Japan, can take away all material gratification. However, memories of real life experiences can never be erased. This focus on material goods could very well be the downfall of American society as we focus on how much money we can make to amass all the things we "dream of" instead of focusing on life.