Jim Hite
"BUT I JUST GOTTA HAVE IT!"

I imagine that all of us, sometime in our life, have heard that statement. Oh, it may not have been in those exact words, but then again, maybe it was. We may have heard them from our children, our friends, or even ourselves, not said out loud but from within as we pondered the purchase of something we just could not do without.

This phenomenon was on display these past weeks as Super Bowl Sunday approached. Manufacturers and sellers of TV sets regaled us with the idea that to enjoy the game, we just had to have the latest wide-screen, high-definition, theater-sound television set.

And this is just one example. We are bombarded day-in, dayout with the pull of advertising telling us we can't live without (insert item here). And it's not just young people, although marketers have found a soft target there. The right name brand, the right style, the latest technological marvel, all purchased not because I need a shirt, coat, jacket, pair of shoes, pair of pants, but because I "just gotta have" that brand and style of shirt, coat, jacket, shoes, pants.

But I digress. Advances in technology, such as the above mentioned television, are seen throughout various areas of our lives. Technology has led to medical care that prolongs life, vehicles that can transport us thousands of miles, hand-held marvels that allow us to talk to anyone in the world from where we sit or stand. It marvelous!

But has prolonged life led to a better quality of life, has travel helped us develop understanding and appreciation of other places and cultures, has the ability to talk around the world led us to ignore those around us, to be so rude as to talk on a cell phone while sitting around a table with friends and even family?

How about your home computer and the system through which it operates? Do you still have a VHS player? Is your cell phone still used only for talking? Talk about advances in technology!

Let's apply this to the world of sport. As a runner, I am extremely thankful that shoes are now made that allow my feet to survive my pounding the pavement. As a cyclist, I am extremely thankful that a bike is available that can provide a reasonable return in speed for the amount of effort I put on the pedals.

But it is also true that the shoes that work perfectly can be replaced with a newer model, that my bike can become a heavyweight that needs replacing by the latest carbon fiber frame.

Fortunately, all of us have the power to choose. While the marketing world operates in a system of planned obsolescence, selling us on the fact that we can't live without this or that, and marketing executives are required to know and play on human emotion for products to be sold, we control our wallets.

This is not written so I can be an old sour curmudgeon complaining that the world is going . . . in a hand basket. Technology is wonderful. Believe me! Without it, I would not be writing this column. My heart would have stopped beating on that September day in 2002.

However, we surely need to understand the difference between needs and wants. Whether fashions or gadgets, we don't "gotta have" so much of what we think we do. Granted, sometimes it is tough to say "no" to demands of children, to their felt need to have what they "gotta have." And face it, it's tough on us as adults to withstand the pressure to want and have the latest and best.

But in the end, the choice is ours.