A Viewmongous TV?
Seriously? You need a viewmongous TV?
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In the Urban Dictionary, viewmongous is defined as:
"A tv that is over 75" and is capable of causing men to ignore their wives while the watching the big game."
While that definition is somewhat amusing, it unfortunately makes light of some serious social problems that we have in America; conspicuous consumption, affluenza and just plain envy. We have been led to believe that "greed is good" and that spending our money on "stuff" we don't really need is more important than spending our money helping our neediest people. Our "stuff" has taken control of our lives and unfortunately, also the lives of those that could benefit from our disposable income, but are conveniently overlooked so that we can spend our money on more "stuff". We are the richest country on this planet and there isn't a single, legitimate reason why we should have poor roads, inadequate schools or allow any our citizens to go hungry.
"The corruption of the American soul is consumerism." -- Ben Nicholson
Think about this for a second...what is your real motivation for buying a viewmongous TV?
Conspicuous consumption is defined by Wikipedia as:
"The spending on goods and services acquired mainly for the purpose of displaying income or wealth. In the
mind of a conspicuous consumer, such display serves as a means of attaining or maintaining social status."
Affluenza is defined by Wikipedia as:
"1. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses.
2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by the pursuit of the American Dream."
Envy is defined by Wikipedia as:
"A resentful emotion that occurs when a person lacks another's perceived superior quality, achievement,
or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it. Envy can also derive from a sense
of low self-esteem that results from an upward social comparison threatening a person's self image; another
person has something that the envier considers to be important to have. If the other person is perceived to
be similar to the envier, the aroused envy will be particularly intense, because it signals to the envier
that it just as well could have been he or she who had the desired object."
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Sharp proudly proclaims that when it comes to its Aquos 80" LED backlit LCD TV, it should be referred to as "viewmongous", because "Big is too small a word for it." What have we become as a people, when "big" is now too small? Have we reached a point where even excess is just not enough?
How big of a TV do you really need? Do you really need a "viewmongous" TV? Is a four foot (48") screen really too small?
- 55" vs. 80" - A widescreen 80" TV has more than double the screen area of a 55" widescreen TV.
- 47" vs. 80" - A widescreen 80" TV is nearly three times as large as a 47" widescreen TV.
- 42" vs. 80" - A widescreen 80" TV is nearly four times as large as a 42" widescreen TV.
- 36" vs. 80" - A widescreen 80" TV is over five times as large as a 36" widescreen TV.
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From Sharp's "viewmongous" commercial for its Aquos 80" LCD TV.
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Examples of Sharp 120Hz widescreen TV prices at Amazon.com:
- 80" - $4,175.39 ($4000+ for a TV = 100s of hungry kids!)
- 70" - $2,499.00
- 60" - $1,399.00
- 46" - $999.00
Why not buy a smaller TV and donate (at least) 10% of the difference to feeding hungry children in America?
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Do the right thing. Help hungry children in
America instead of buying a viewmongous TV.
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Here is a simple plan to help feed hungry children in America, instead of buying a viewmongous TV.
The "Do the right thing and feel good plan":
- Determine your budget
- Buy a smaller TV than your budget allows
- Donate at least 10% of the difference to feed hungry children in America
- Put the remainder into long term savings
- Repeat with all "mongous" or "normous" purchases in the future.
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Example:
- You have a $4000 budget for an 80" viewmongous TV
- Instead of buying a 80" viewmongous TV, you buy a 60" TV for $1400. The difference is a whopping $2600!
- Do the right thing: You donate $300, which is only 11.5% of the difference, to feed hungry children in America.
- Feel good: You put the remaining $2300 into long term savings, for your family's future.
- Keep doing this every time you consider buying unnecessary, excessively large and excessively expensive stuff and you will feel better about how you contribute to our society and to your family.
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