Essay About Factor Author Laurence Shames And Mind Set

The More Factor
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In The More Factor author Laurence Shames explains
that Americas fascination of wanting as much of everything
as possible has played a key role in building this nations
character and has been evident through Americas short
history. Laurence Shames claims that the so called “ethic
of decency” has been absent in the American way of life
and replaced by an “ethic of success”. While Shames has a
valid point, I consider the lack of emphasis on decency and
contentment in America a positive rather negative.
Shames
suggests that in the 1800s Americas love of possession and
want was born. The Wild west was a frontier that created
opportunity which led to more. Shames uses the idea of
expansion, the Wild West, and the frontier to take blame
for creating a backward philosophy in which Americans have
adopted a mind set where they havent stopped to “adopt
values, hopes, ambitions that have to do with things other
than more.” Shames goes on to say that the economy has
been the next frontier and may be our “last version of the
Wild West.” By stating this Shames is implying America is
simply running out of more to be had. This leads Shames to
believe that with the absence of more the American people
will have to limit their expectations and create an “ideal
of contentment” for what they already have instead of
always looking for that little bit extra, the more.
America today the presence and hunger of more is detouring
people from establishing morals, and ambitions that consist
of other things than just more and success. I agree with
Shames in this statement, but I regard this as a positive
opposed to Shames seeing it as a negative. Shames presents
us with a solution to this statement by saying that people
should limit their expectations and create an “ideal of
contentment” with what they have, and in turn this will
allow them to put more energy towards creating morals
hopes, and ambitions that dont just consist of more. If
America didnt have this hunger of more it has grown to have