VANITY DIGEST

I don't like anything formal at all. I don't like anything that says either "You must do it this way" or "I've got more than you". I take great comfort and pleasure in living in an average town. I used to have a regular job with middle class pay.

The people that you meet in "anytown" for the most part are good hearted people, who work hard, love their families, and like to have fun when they can. That, in my opinion, is a rich life.

So why in the world would I look at two publications such as Vanity Fair and Architectural Digest? Yes, I do. It is a little bit like spying on another planet or civilization. I don't admire these people with their carefully structured abodes and expensive stuff. I look on in quizzical wonder. Why would anyone desire to live in a context that screams "I am special and above the rest", when "the rest" is the rich foundation of our society?

Both of these magazines, page after page, express the same message - that a person should be: 
forever youthful, always thin, either classically or strangely beautiful, always wearing a look of boredom or disdain, always ready for some kind of kinky sex, and of course, very wealthy or kept by someone who is. 
All this, while dressed in clothing and jewelry that most people can't afford, and living in a house that is surely decorated by someone other than oneself.

The answer as to why I look at these two flaunting vehicles is that I am and always have been interested in art and design. So I flip through the glossy pages, looking at what the designers are coming up with for those who have the most money. Occasionally I do see something that wows me, but more often than not I see designs that seem to exist only to challenge those who already have everything and are bored with it.

Maybe it's that I need to confirm my sense of disapproval over those who shout so vigorously that they are living the better life. Why do I need to do this? I do it because their credo of more/bigger/prettier/fancier is continuously shoved in our faces via all forms of media. Maybe I need to, by observing the gluttonous class, reinforce my belief that the simple life is indeed the most rewarding life.

I know that I could just avoid viewing the media that carries these skewed messages.

But what I would love to see on the faces of those stick models is a warm smile, a look of empathy, a sense that they appreciate life. Not "What are YOU looking at?"