“I don’t need anything, except this.” [picks up an ashtray] “And that’s the only thing I need is this. I don’t need this or this. Just this ashtray...And this paddle game. The ashtray and the paddle game, and that’s all I need...And this remote control. The ashtray, the paddle game, and the remote control, and that’s all I need...And these matches. The ashtray, and these matches, and the remote control, and the paddle ball...And this lamp. The ashtray, this paddle game, and the remote control, and the lamp, and that’s all I need. And that’s all I need too. I don’t need one other thing, not one...I need this. The game and the chair, and the remote control, and the matches for sure. Well, what are you looking at? What do think I’m some kind of jerk or something! And this. That’s all I need.” [walking outside] “The ashtray, the remote control, the paddle game, and this magazine, and the chair.” [outside now] “And I don’t need one other thing, except my dog.” [the dog growls at him] “I don’t need my dog.” -Excerpt The Jerk, 1979
We are all like Navin R. Johnson in one way or another. We are all wasteful and buy too much without even realizing it. We all want bigger, better, faster, the latest, and more of everything. We are fixated on objects that bring us no real happiness. We need to slow down and think about buying quality items that last. We need to stop indulging every single day and tossing out everything in our path. I’m just as guilty as everyone else. I recently got a new phone just because I wanted it. My “old” phone was three years old and had nothing wrong with it but I wanted to treat myself, even though in reality I get just about everything I want when I want it. The planet doesn’t belong to us and we all need to do better, starting with me.
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