What Defines a Man?

This week in English, we briefly touched on the period known as the "Roaring 20's", a time that "roared" with new social conventions and cultural rebellions. The Roaring 20's was also the birthplace of modernism and consumerism. Thanks to advertising and mass production, America had soon turned into a mass consumption society. These were the times where man had to have everything, and if man failed to obtain everything, he was worthless. To some extent, this belief still holds true today. There is a tacit axiom in which when one is seen to have "more" than others, he holds a higher worth than others.  We in American society have falsely built up this belief that possession equates to worth; the Founding Fathers even adhered to this belief for America in the immortalized statement "life, liberty, and property" which was only later changed to "pursuit of happiness". Man pursues property, which in his mind, as well as every other American's mind, equates to happiness and worth. As time has progressed, the idea that man's worth equates to his skills and personal achievements is starting to come into relevance in American's; however, the belief that man's property defines his worth is still (sadly) rooted deeply inside the minds of the American man. In order to truly progress as society, individuals must be able to grasp the idea that man's worth is not based on possession, but rather personal skills and true, not superficial, happiness.