on Grass

With the invisible hand comes the presumption that the ultimate goal of every individual is to obtain the most riches possible, but as more and more people find that they have all that they need, the economic model is collapsing. In the era of Adam Smith, each man was faced with shortage, and in the effort to meet their needs, it was essential that they pursued more wealth. But it is beyond the basic acquisition of resources, which modern technology has not only antiquated but proven wasteful and problematic, that the collection of riches becomes a burden instead of a gift.

One of the first riches (as I am defining it, as something of little to no practical value but of great monetary worth) was grass lawns. In a period of time where there was plenty of open land but all of it had to be used to feed the people, there was rarely a landowner who could spare much space for anything other than food. Eventually, the most powerful took enough land from the weak, that their land became so vast that the food on the fringes would rot even if they did harvest it. So, the strong and gluttonous would grow grass on this land, which was very pretty and felt good on the feet but was absolutely useless, while his weakened neighbors could only stare at the wasted land as their people went hungry.

In the 21st century, it is presumed that all people of worth will have a grass lawn surrounding their house. Apartments are reserved for the young and the poor, and condominiums are either second homes for wealthy travellers or include their own parks or community gardens. It is a signature of the impoverished homeowner to let their lawns die, leaving nothing but dirt where there one was a small but lush green. But as our cities grow to a size where land is appraised for hundreds of dollars per square foot, our lawns' main purpose remains: to be seen by our neighbors. And the sacrifice of our lawn is not one we are willing to make.