Limits of materialism.

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Burning Petard
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Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2016 5:35 pm
Location: Near Bear, Delaware

Limits of materialism.

Post by Burning Petard »

My wife and I saw the new Clint Eastwood movie 'Mule'. We liked it. Mr. Eastwood is an old man, driving a black Lincoln (either the Blackwood or Mk LT, I can't tell the difference) and loaded with hundreds of kilos of cocaine or heroin, transporting from Texas to Chicago. A scene shows him at a diner counter, drinking coffee next to a DEA agent who is heading a big team out looking for a black pickup, but ignoring a Lincoln driven by an old white man. The DEA agent gets a personal phone call about missing his wedding anniversary. Eastwood goes into a conversation with the agent, 'advising' him about the failure to pay attention to really important things in life while concentrating on work or ambition of public acclaim (Clintwood plays one who in younger years was the world's leading expert on breeding day lilies). At the end the old man tells him all this shit is worthless if you lose your family over it.

Not a new idea. I can even say it is a cliche. But have you ever heard this sentiment coming from one who has not already grabbed 'all this shit'?

snailgate

Big RR
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Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2010 9:47 pm

Re: Limits of materialism.

Post by Big RR »

I don't know, regardless of how much "shit" they amassed, I have never heard any older/retired person saying the career sacrifices were worth it compared with what they gave up. I t5hink it's a pretty common feeling to be bitter about what you gave up, especially if the financial success is not all that great. I'd be interested to see whether people who devoted themselves to their families, felt the opposite way; the only one I can think of is a friend who gave up his career to stay home and raise his kids (while his wife worked outside the home), and he appears to be very happy about it, after his kids are grown and have graduated college.

rubato
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Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 10:14 pm

Re: Limits of materialism.

Post by rubato »

Someone who has started with little and then "grabbed all that shit" is in a position to know what it is and isn't worth.


yrs,
rubato

ex-khobar Andy
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Joined: Sat Dec 19, 2015 4:16 am
Location: Louisville KY as of July 2018

Re: Limits of materialism.

Post by ex-khobar Andy »

There's a 'the grass is always greener' side to this. My wife, whose family essentially stayed in one place until well after she left home, still has friends - real friends, not just acquaintances - from primary school with whom she is in regular contact at least weekly by email. On the other hand my family moved around a lot; by the time I was 12 we had lived in six different countries at something like 12 addresses. I'm sure that is the reason that I have lived and worked in so many places. Apart from relatives, I have communicated with two people from before I was thirty and here I am talking about an email once every two years or so.

Sometimes I envy my wife for her firm roots and sometimes je ne regrette rien. It depends on my mood.

Burning Petard
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Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2016 5:35 pm
Location: Near Bear, Delaware

Re: Limits of materialism.

Post by Burning Petard »

First, this movie is based on a real life episode. Not a Hollywood treatment. The credits at the end even include the online link to the story in the NY Times that is the source. I did read it before I saw the movie. The main characters in the movie--the drug dealers, the old man, the DEA agents--all seem blinded by their personal bias. The DEA can't believe that much drugs could be moved by someone who is not in their profile. The drug middle management cannot tolerate a mule who gets it done without following their careful instructions. The mule cannot believe he can put so much cash in his pocket, pay off all his debts, become a conspicous community philanthropist and nobody, even the law, asks where the money is coming from.

The mule had invested his whole life into making these beautiful flowers--day- lilies--that only bloom for one day. His family turns their back on him (rightfully so) and his lily development turns to financial ruin as he cannot adapt to the exchange of plants and information on the internet. It ends when he deviates from his prescribed route to go be with his ex-wife as she finally dies of cancer. The DEA knows the mule is out there. They have inside information about it all The drug mob cannot believe anyone would ignore their threats of violence. After yet another beating, the Mule turns himself in to the totally baffled DEA, with the drugs still in the back of his luxury Lincoln pick-up--totally unconcealed beyond some of his gardening equipment in with it. He goes to court and refuses any plea deal, just tells everything and accepts the time for the crime.

The final scene shows him tending a garden of lilies next to a federal prison building.

snailgate.

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