After having a conversation with a German Doctor i realized we are missing a lot in our culture and how we are forgetting our traditions in order to follow others , as we see in movies and series.
I have witnessed many who change their style after watching a series/movie and trying to imitate the actress style or talk like them and then you see girls all over the campus acting the same , where now i really cant remember whose who because all girls to me are the same ! Same hair style, color and same dress and brand bags, ect.
As if a girl cant be ” SOMEBODY ” with out a Chanel jumbo and maxi and XXL (lol) … or the bag that is from HERMES where you add your name in a Wish list and you get it after 3 to 6 months why is that ? Are we so desperate for a leather bag that cant change anything in our personality ?
Why are we being so materialistic and judgmental?
We are being so shallow, bourgeois, object-oriented, possessive and we tend to judge each others by the car they drive or by who is this person father or by their plate number. I witnessed many friendships based on that too and at the end it all gets messed up !
We have to change and by saying we I also need to changed ; people must be satisfied by themselves and what they have. They do not need to have brands to make friends , they do not need a 40,000 dhs bag to show people that they can afford. Seriously from seeing the Hermes Berkins – all over I thought they give it for free .
A person must be unique in his society , for example i love to be unique in my own way why wont we all be unique and try to limit the Copying side and start inventing and working for ourselves giving back to our country what it made us afford having.
People today with a materialistic outlook give excessive importance to money. Such thinking ultimately drives the whole society towards destruction. We are becoming those “people with eyes of gold” the people who see everything in terms of money and only money.
Excellent! I wish more people thought like this
I think some materialism is ok. I dont think I’d be able to tell my future wife (one day) to NOT buy an expensive bag. But I would put my foot down.
A friend and I recently went to buy clothes for Eid. I decided to give away ALL my ghutar and buy new ones as the newest ones in my cabnet are TWO years old. Some as old as 6 years old.
Our bills were the same, roughly 1300 dirhams. I had 6 shimaghs, he had 3.
He asked HOW CAN THAT BE?!
I answered, well, I got 4 Al Bassam Plus (Lighter, for wearing with Agal,) and 2 Al Bassam regulars (Thicker, good for wearing as Hamdanniya)
Al Bassam is a Saudi brand, probably 40 years old, known for their long life, strength, and they dont go bad after many washes.
He bought only THREE for that price, they were one Gucci and 2 Dunhills.
I asked WHAT is the difference between them> He said well… Nothing really, they are all made in the same 3 or 4 factories in the UK, HOWEVER< mine have these brand name son them.
So even men have this tendency. It starts very young in our society I think. We have money, on average we have more than most in the world, and instead of teaching our kids the value of this money, we cave in to their sometime outrageous demands.
My aunt for example buys her kinds branded everything. All the time. The boys have new branded sandals or caps on a weekly basis, the girls… A small treasury worth of things.
Its a cultural thing. And not just as in UAE culture. I have a Jordanian friend who's salary is 12K, he pays ALL 12K in loans a month, and has been in trouble to pay off credit cards (I and 2 others have loaned him money because he has been sued by banks)
Guess what he wears on his wrist… A 20K Mont Blanc watch.
Im not saying these things arent ok, in doses, or even needed in some. When I started my career I wore a Fossil watch, now I do wear a Mont Blanc, but only because my position has some expectations. And Im not knee deep in debt for my 8K watch.
I think you, me, and most people on this site are of the last generation to be beaten by our fathers. They were beatings of LOVE. Even today Ill get a smack by my dad if he doesnt like something I do or say. But it wasnt just beating. To this day Maghrib prayer is me and him at the mosque together, at night its me, him, and my brothers at his company.
But kids these days dont have that community love. I was raised by 7 or 8 people. Parents, uncle, neighbor, uncle's wife, aunt…
Kids these days are brought up by bragging, TV, and a sense that, oh, my dad has money, so I should as well.
Not understanding that their dad is 55 and has spent 30 years making that money.
But the best thing we can do is live by example. I get asked ALL the time why I dont drive a REAL car, meaning a GERMAN car, like the rest of my brothers. My answer:
I like the cars I drive. I LIKE them, I drive them because I like them, not so that they can be liked by others.
So at the end of the day it's a matter of self esteem. We had real parental and community LOVE growing up. Kids these days dont, and that shoots their self esteem very down. And the easiest way to bring it back up (as they perceive it) is to be like a famous person, or their very rich friend, or a singer, or…
Nice topic. BTW, I have no idea what Hermes is…
loved it.. good article.. and the last part is the reality u are talking about ..when u say .Such thinking ultimately drives the whole society towards destruction. We are becoming those “people with eyes of gold” the people who see everything in terms of money and only money.
Well-written & 100% true. I personally don’t give a damn to brand bags. I always choose items that expresses me the most. Again, lovely post. Keep up the good work.
I have mixed feelings about the materialism.
On one hand I feel that a person’s bag, watch or car can express their individuality.
But, on the other hand it can also cause envy between one another and envy is a sin.
It’s so true – all of the sheikhs, sheikhas and top ranking people I know are the most humble people you could ever wish to meet – they volunteer for charities (and not for publicity’s sake), they wear non designer (or subtle) things and are certainly not obsessed with material things.
Just as in the UK, those most preoccupied with belongings are shallow, hollow, cheap and classless. Imagine Baba Zayed (Allahyarhamhu) showing off to people about the things he owned – never… It truely is a disease of our times, I partly blame a) the parents for being absent/not being disciplined with their kids and b) society in general for accepting such overt displays of ‘wealth’.
In the words of Sheikh Saeed, “My grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I drive a Mercedes, my son drives a Land Rover, his son will drive a Land Rover, but his son will ride a camel.”
I mean Sheikh Rashid – d’oh!
Great article- I must say I was really tiring of seeing the local society magazines (rags) for the area pointing out in a public forum how smart they are, what purse fashion designer they prefer right now/what they have, name dropping who their friends are, where they live, and drive- it’s one thing to have self confidence and success, it’s another to brag about it in a public forum- it just comes off as shallow-as if you have to earn respect based on what you have not what you have done or the person you are. After all you can’t take it with you when you leave this earth.
Thankyou very much for hilighting a very important issue in our society these days. Sure everyone loves a bit of luxury but we also must give back to our country as you mentioned. Sometimes I’m afraid I could easily get sucked in to all this stuff- we are so disillusioned of the hardshipd of a real life-but with good parents and friends by your side you remember what is truly important.
Shoutout to Abood: Thanks for an interesting male point of view didnt know guys could spend alot on clothes too, but it’s nice to know there are men like you out there who are still smart.
Hermes is a fancy and verrrrry expensive French brand for bags and scarfs mostly.
Great article, loved it. It’s sad but this is what’s happening, I have lots to say about this subject, in fact if I started I wouldn’t know when I am going to finish. But all I can say we are listening to our voice in our mind, we love assumptions, we assume if we follow this person we are being similar, by being similar we are striving to get the same attention that the person we are copying is getting. We are slave and we are not aware we are one which is worse. I might write about this later when I organize my time. thanks for sharing your thoughts
AbdulAziz