The other day a co-worker of mine commented on a flower arrangement and said something along these lines, "I used to really like those flowers and think they were fancy, and then I found out how cheap they are..." Then I was in the store last week looking at flowers and the thought of her comment really bothered me, Really? Should what you pay for something really change how you feel about it? Should the fact that a certain flower is easier to grow, which makes it cheaper, make it any less enjoyable? Should anyone ever worry about "cheap" flowers making them look bad? If they are beautiful to you, then what does it matter what you paid for them? I recognize that it's the supply in demand theory that often determines value, not always quality or enjoyment. This also brings to mind the episode of 30Rock where Jack Donaghy makes such an ordeal out of getting this exclusive reservation and this elite restaurant to have a gold leafed dessert for a ridiculous amount of money... and yet he ended up wanting a good old McDonalds McFlurry for a couple dollars instead. But just because they are only a couple dollars and you can get one in every city in America and many around the world... should that make them less valuable? If they suddenly became an exclusive treat how much more would people be willing to pay? Should value be determined by cost? By popularity? By enjoyment? It makes me laugh when people fall subject to marketing schemes around the holidays, that there are only X amount of Tickle me Elmo dolls, or Nintendo Wii's- so wait in line and inhumanely plow people down just so you can be one of the few! But despite what the product makers have said they will be mass producing those same items a month from now and you will all continue to buy them because you still have a mindset that they are rare, and it makes you feel special to have one. I guess I am sometimes baffled that a label or a name brand can really cost so much money, and that people pay for it because of what it represents to society. These brands and labels or names or elite places, foods or flowers are really just like wearing price tags around to show the money that we have or are willing to spend... and it's even more sad that we as a society actually treat people differently because we know what they spend or don't spend. Granted some great things do just cost a lot of money because a lot of work goes into quality. But if you like something that is cheap then there is nothing wrong with that- In fact it should make you like it more!
