Jealousy and Envy
In the Christian world "Thou shalt not covet" is a major tenet - and yet in our Christian-dominated culture it seems that coveting is what drives the US into it's Mammon-worshiping economic bubbles (that are bursting faster than new bubbles are forming...). Jealousy and Greed are two sides of a dangerous coin - leading us into unsustainable economic pursuits. Yet, if one doesn't strive to acquire *more*, the current system leads one into scary alternatives -- no access to basic healthcare until you do not have enough money to live on. I'm talking about the gap between qualifying for Medicaid and having enough salary above living wage to afford reasonable health insurance on your own. I've always hovered between Medicaid and living wage, so I depend on my employer for any healthcare I can get. But I digress.
I want to talk about Jealousy - several discussions amongst unrelated friends have led my meditations into the definition of Jealousy. Our culture automatically equates it with a desire to deprive the person who is the object of jealousy of whatever item or privilege that causes jealousy. It is often characterized as a "high school" attitude. For instance - if someone else has healthcare and I do not, then somehow I must want to get that healthcare and deprive the other person of it (or of the means to obtain it). This doesn't have to be a zero-sum equation. All of us should have some reasonable basic level of healthcare - the country has enough capital to be able to do this (if we don't have super-rich people with political power wanting to deprive everyone else so they can get bigger bonuses - they can still get more money than the rest of us without begrudging us healthcare). If someone wants to have "extras" like Botox treatments or cosmetic surgery (not because of an accident or birth defect) then they should pay for these luxuries as they see fit. Or another example - if a friend of mine (or anyone else) is doing something fun or rewarding and I want to join in then I don't wish to deprive them of the opportunity but rather just join in and do the same thing. I don't have any desire to "tear them down" as "high school" jealousy would do.
Envy is a better word that doesn't necessarily hold the same connotations as Jealousy - but still it seems to be a negative word. I envy that someone else has something I don't have. "Copying" them or being inspired to do my own take on it is equated to "beat the Joneses" mentality. That may be true of purely material items (but what is entirely material? aesthetics also plays out) - but what about philanthropic pursuits? Surely copying what I see as good in this world should have some positive feedback. But instead it is seen by some to be motivated by envy or jealousy. We really need a new word that puts a positive spin on copying what is good. Wanting to be included and be inclusive - come join us in the pool! With all the hundreds of thousand words in the English language perhaps there is but I don't know it yet; perhaps we could invent a new word by borrowing from other languages and anglicizing the result - please help!
I want to talk about Jealousy - several discussions amongst unrelated friends have led my meditations into the definition of Jealousy. Our culture automatically equates it with a desire to deprive the person who is the object of jealousy of whatever item or privilege that causes jealousy. It is often characterized as a "high school" attitude. For instance - if someone else has healthcare and I do not, then somehow I must want to get that healthcare and deprive the other person of it (or of the means to obtain it). This doesn't have to be a zero-sum equation. All of us should have some reasonable basic level of healthcare - the country has enough capital to be able to do this (if we don't have super-rich people with political power wanting to deprive everyone else so they can get bigger bonuses - they can still get more money than the rest of us without begrudging us healthcare). If someone wants to have "extras" like Botox treatments or cosmetic surgery (not because of an accident or birth defect) then they should pay for these luxuries as they see fit. Or another example - if a friend of mine (or anyone else) is doing something fun or rewarding and I want to join in then I don't wish to deprive them of the opportunity but rather just join in and do the same thing. I don't have any desire to "tear them down" as "high school" jealousy would do.
Envy is a better word that doesn't necessarily hold the same connotations as Jealousy - but still it seems to be a negative word. I envy that someone else has something I don't have. "Copying" them or being inspired to do my own take on it is equated to "beat the Joneses" mentality. That may be true of purely material items (but what is entirely material? aesthetics also plays out) - but what about philanthropic pursuits? Surely copying what I see as good in this world should have some positive feedback. But instead it is seen by some to be motivated by envy or jealousy. We really need a new word that puts a positive spin on copying what is good. Wanting to be included and be inclusive - come join us in the pool! With all the hundreds of thousand words in the English language perhaps there is but I don't know it yet; perhaps we could invent a new word by borrowing from other languages and anglicizing the result - please help!