Vanity

It's one of the oldest issues and sins of all time.  Vanity has afflicted the human race for as long as we know, or at least our documented history provides.  How can we as a society steer away from it?  We simply can't.  It's not in our nature.  As much as we try to preach the importance of content over appearance, it just never changes.  Vanity is a part of our society and lives, and there isn't any getting rid of it. 

When you hear the word "vanity," you may think of fashion models or Hollywood.  It's a term that rides right along side the media.  Why is this concept such an inescapable part of our everyday lives?  Because we all want to look good.  Many of us will go to great lengths to look the absolute best we can at all times.  This does not necessarily mean putting tons of personal effort into a tedious regime.  It may only concern spending a lot of money on plastic surgery and spas. 

Vanity is everywhere you turn.  Our society and media thrive on it.  It has been proven that your looks will get you far in life.  Many times the workforce so conspicuously proves this over and over.  Just walk into a nice eatery or bar.  Chances are, the management did their best to hire only attractive servers.  But do not misconstrue what I'm saying.  This dilemma and prejudice does not come from business owners as much as it does from the public as a whole.  We, the public, prefer an attractive person to wait on us or work with us in any fashion.  This is rather clear if you look at Hollywood.  The tinsel town is filled with a deluge of pretty faces.  Many spectators see this bias situation and gripe as if clueless.  It is a fact that the majority of our society, whether they admit it or not, prefer to watch an attractive leading man or woman.  Again, vanity is an issue here as well.  Being a film geek, I can tell you that most viewers when watching a movie, live vicariously to some extent through a character they relate with.  This is an unconscious act for many, but nevertheless, valid. 

As long as we dwell upon the importance of being tall, thin and beautiful, vanity will remain a major concern for the human race.  The innate attraction we all feel toward symmetry and finding an ideal mate is almost impossible to battle.  Therefore, unless we can change our physical DNA, vanity, in reference to image, will continue to remain a paramount concern amongst our beauty-obsessed society.