Excess is best?

Growing up in the fifties, my idea of excessive living was probably the ancient Romans. I envisioned them lying on couches eating grapes and watching women dancing around them wearing provocative outfits. In my childish mind this was the age of decadence.

At the same time my family lived in an upper middle class home for its time. We had one bathroom, a toilet in a somewhat finished basement, and simple closets, probably five or six feet long with one rod in all the bedrooms, including the master. Most people had one black and white television, no dishwasher, and push lawnmowers (not gasoline powered.) Families generally had one car, one phone, and window air conditioners were considered a real luxury.

We drank soda very rarely, candy bars were small, eating out was also very rare and people were suspect of hamburgers that were cheap.

It makes me wonder when the age of excess began? When did it become necessary to buy two liters of soda pop at a time, need bathrooms for every bedroom, have closets the size of old fashioned bathrooms (or larger,) phones for every person in the family (even children in first grade,) televisions in every room, whole house air conditioning, riding lawn mowers in town, and consider fast food with its chemicals that made it resemble real food a viable alternative to meat and vegetables at the family table?

I think it began in the seventies when a generation of free spirits slowly moved from their parents bank accounts into the real world where they had to support themselves. The horror of caving into the system was balanced by indulging in amenities that made life feel more luxurious and easier.

The Depression era grandparents gave birth to the credit loving grandchildren. Facades beat out stability when it came to lifestyles and more was better, Better, BETTER!

It looks to me as if we are slowly moving back towards reason again as people begin to adopt a simpler way of living; looking at tiny houses, green living and whole foods.

Of course, down the road, there will probably be another growth of excesses, but not in my lifetime.