Americans are too greedy.

Child Care In that case then, wouldn't it be tied back again to people's lack of knowledge? You cannot blame someone and hold it against them if it was done unknowingly. For example, if I had the belief that to look someone in the eye was the most insulting thing a person could possibly do, would it not be wrong of me to hold it against someone who was completely and utterly unaware? The person was not being rude…they were living as they do comfortably and because of their uninformed state they were not abiding by my own principles. Still, this does not mean they are rude. Most people believe sex is something you do when you love someone. The chemicals in the brain urge a person to let themselves go physically deeper into the relationship. During intercourse more hormones are released that tell the body it is pleasurable and good. Thus the mind is trained that sex is how a good deal of pleasure is attained. Then after two people have experienced pleasure the bond between them becomes more intense, if the experience was truly pleasurable. Americans are, therefore, not so much greedy as they are instinctive and uncontrolled in this area. The way I see things is that the parents could have aborted and then continued on with their lives and acted as though nothing happened. They could have selfishly rejected a possible child life. In so doing, they would be truly greedy. They would be acting out of a sense of keeping their lives as they are without regard for anyone else. That is greedy. But to give a person a chance at something, that is selflessness. Knowing full well the child will be a burden on their lives, the finances, the strain the child might cause on the relationship, that is selfless. Then being placed into foster care is done because the parents hope the child might get better support from a different family. By the way, most of the children in foster care are not there because their parents gave them up, but because the parents made mistakes and had their parental rights terminated. My being placed into foster care was because the environment my biological situation set up for her family was dangerous and she was unable to break her addiction. My and my younger brothers' placement in foster care was because of addictions, negligence, and abuse, as are most of the kids in foster care. They end up not being productive members of society because their past speaks into their lives and they continue the low achievement demonstrated by their original caretakers. Personal Items I would say that it is not greed, for the most part. Though there may be a slight undertone of greed from the act of buying that which a person does not need, I would argue that it is more the commercialism of our society that gets us to buy such things. All the voices saying that we need it and it is the best of its kind cause a person to give in and buy. The weakness of minds and wills cause people to buy stuff that is unnecessary. This gives the impression of greed, but it is not. It is the weakness of humanity that makes us buy, buy, and buy. Business Greed I know the people and their businesses personally, or via one person who does know them and the entire family personally. Though I do agree that, yes, sometimes it may look like that simply because they are not pulling in much profit, I disagree that all are like so. Some, yes; others, not quite so much. My Argument So then, people have things they do not need. This much is true. But as for your objective, I would venture to say that it is not greed that is having a negative effect on us. The decline in the economy is not caused by greed. It is driven by irresponsibility. A lack of responsibility keeps people from paying off their credit cards and thus has an adverse effect on the economy. Beyond that, I think that a lot of what you argue greed to be is simply desire. To want is not to be greedy per se. Greed, as you have defined, is practically uncontrollable. It is something I cannot say no to. It would rule me. Just because I want some Hershey's chocolate right now does not mean I am greedy. It means I have a desire to eat some chocolate. Just because my girlfriend and I bought a $500 tv does not mean we are greedy. It means we have a desire to be able to relax at the end of our school day. Want is not greed. Uncontrollable desire that drives one into bad decisions is greed.