Chris

Advertising is part of society and its goal is to manipulate you to feel or think that physical items or purchases in general are needed to improve/better your standard of living. Even if you try to dis-enguage from all the publicity that is put around you, you still are forced to recognize it because it's everywhere you look.

**I do agree that society perception of happiness and authority is based around the idea of having material things that assume to have those qualities. Like having an expensive car or name brand clothing that a company isn't directly trying to sell, but the idea and fantasy you will experience if you have those items. That is a complete reality I think everyone is subjected to. Also, that society belief in itself is based more on how a majority of us go about life, which is not necessary a bad thing, but is motivated by the wrong reasons.

**I disagree with the point that people who do not possess or spend money are considered faceless in society, compared to those who do. You have ads, for example, that urge people to recycle, conserve, or volunteer. Thing of that nature which the goal is to just to get people to care enough, that they want to help. I don't think those people are unimportant or of less importance. Also, I disagree that with the idea of being able to spend means that you will live or have a better life. You may be more comfortable in terms of having everything you ever wanted, but have a horrible life. What comes to mine are celebrities and people who won the lottery. Look at Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears, they are extremely rich, but their lives seem like shit. All the money (power) they have and their ridiculous lives are similar to a soap-opera. And lottery winners who you would think would be the luckiest people in the world, but in reality, they have to go through changes that they are just not prepared for. One guy won the lottery and right after, he had all these people mailing him with their problems, which could all be fixed with money. He recieved threats on his on life and lost his grand-daughter to drugs. All this new found wealth made his life worse. So, I really can't agree with that way of thinking.