Materialism

I am curious if the recession is having the same effect on showy displays of wealth in the States as it is having here in Iceland. A person who might have been the envy of most because of his high salary and shiny new car does not engender quite the feeling of jealousy these days. People are more likely to applaud those who do more with less. But an ethic of conservation is not necessarily always going to overcome the simple sense of unfairness in the face of really blatant discrepancies in possessions. I think California has it worse than Iceland in this regard, because the gap between the rich and the poor there is really very readily apparent, especially in Orange County. But I'm hoping that when I go there next week, I'll find that the Green Revolution is reaching down behind the Orange Curtain!