I want to know what you think

“As many have noted, the mass of men and women lead lives today of unquiet desperation. A frantic busyness pervades our society wherever we look - in city and country, among young and old and middle-aged, married and unmarried, all races, classes, sexes, in work and play, in religion, the arts, the sciences, and perhaps most conspicuously in the self-conscious cult of meditation, retreat, withdrawal. The symptoms of universal unease and dis-ease are apparent on every side.
We hear the demand by the conventional economists for increased ‘productivity,’ for example. Productivity of what? For whose benefit? To what end? By what means and at what cost? Those questions are not considered. We are belabored by the insistence on the part of our politicians, businessmen, and military leaders, and the claque of scriveners who serve them, that ‘growth’ and ‘power’ are intrinsic goods, of which we can never have enough, or even too much. As if gigantism were an end in itself…” Edward Abbey
This post might seem like an excuse to be a lazy blogger, but I feel that it is particularly relevant during this “economic downturn” to consider our reasons for participating in what is increasingly becoming an obvious farce, the economy. I recently read 2 online travel articles; one about how to travel the world for free (termed vagabonding here), and another defending the first against the onslaught of angry responses from people calling vagabonders irresponsible, hippie bums. The author tries to explain that travelers have their own goals they are trying to achieve, which are outside of the conventional axioms regarding success, such as living in the Now, enjoying the present, and discovering one’s self. He also spends a good portion of the article deconstructing the conventional notion of success.
Here’s my real reason for posting this blog. I want you to think about the above quote by Ed Abbey, and post a comment here (see the “comment” button below). What do you think about the quote, particularly his assertion that most people are leading lives of “unquiet desperation”,”frantic busyness”, and “universal unease”. Have your ideas of success and security changed due to the recession? Would you consider living as a vagabond for a while?
I am really excited to read your comments. Please leave one or my ego will be greatly injured. Come on, I haven’t reached enlightenment yet.