There is a great commercial on television right now. It starts with a man driving a car while a voice over narrator speaks. The narrator comments on how we live in an age of instant gratification. He says, “Don’t like your nose? Get a new one,” and it shows an image of the driver with a before and after nose job animation.
The narrator continues, “Don’t like your job? Get a new one.”
While I don’t believe in plastic surgery, so far the commercial doesn’t strike me as unrealistic. The next line makes me change my mind.
“Don’t like your spouse? Get a new one.”
Wait a minute!
The narrator continues, “Whatever happened to commitment?”
Okay, good. That last one really threw me off. I agree that commitment seems to have lost its appeal. Maybe the narrator is right; maybe it is tied to the world we live in now. We can easily go out and get anything that we want with very little difficulty. Why should we show commitment?
I think commitment is an important. It is sad that relationships seem to fail more often than not these days. Relationships take work and effort. When things get tough, it is easy to run out and get a new person in your life. Of course, people that do this usually keep running into the same problem over and over again. It is because the problem is usually not the other person. Relationships are complex and all of your problems cannot be put upon your spouse.
I show commitment to a lot of things in my life. I am loyal to a fault, and yes it has come back to hurt me several times. My heart has been broken. My trust has been taken advantage of. Yet, this is no reason to stop showing commitment. It is a two way street and my loyalty has paid off in spades. Yeah, sometimes it is work and sometime it involves sacrifice, but I have found that the best things in life do.
14 responses to “Whatever Happened to Commitment?”
Golden words, Chase, golden.
Thanks ECD.
Going through a divorce, I can relate…my husband moved out and when he found someone else. I am loyal to a fault myself and it has broken my heart…but I refuse to give up hope that there are some real people with real integrity.
Thanks for your honest comment. I know that there are some decent people out there who know the importance of loyalty and commitment. The people that don’t know this will hopefully learn from those who constantly display these qualities, people just like you.
I was struck by this commercial, too. I agree with its sentiments and yours, too. We sure live in a society of instant gratification. The only perspective I might add is these days we seem to want bigger and better just for bigger and better’s sake. I mean, look at all the new cell phones sprouting up daily. Do we really need to have every means of communication on one tiny device or do we just need a cell phone? Sometimes I feel like I’m stuck in the fast lane when all I need is a relaxing cruise down the coast.
Hi Vienne, your comments reminded me of an article I read recently about the HD-DVD and Blu-ray format wars. The author of the article believed that this neither of these new formats is going to catch on. For most people, DVDs are good enough. Plus there are converters that will upgrade regular DVDs to be viewed on HD-TVs. Therefore, the author predicted that this new format war may be won just on the strength and availability of titles. And even when the format is decided by consumer purchases, it probably will remain a product of the audiophile or elite.
This article just goes to show us how much power we have as a consumer. If we don’t buy the biggest and newest things, they won’t continue to make them. So perhaps you are right. It is time to slow down a bit and coast. What we have now is great. We don’t always need to upgrade.
Thanks for the comment!
Any additional details you can provide on the commercial? Car manufacturer? Ad agency that created? I’ve searched for it online but can’t find. My father is teaching a class on marriage and I think this would be a fantastic “prop”.
I can’t access YouTube from the school computers here, but I think I found the ad. Check it out, if you can.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opUdBG-zbKo
I think the commercial was for Hyundai, but I’m not sure. Hope this helps.
As luck would have it, I saw the commercial again today. It was for the Hyundai Sonata. The motto at the end of the commercial was “Think About It”
What a great commercial. Just got thru a divorce, and I think about this question everyday. Scary that there’s so many people out there that commitment means nothing to. It’s all about instant gratification for most, which tends to leave those who care with broken hearts.
Some people are all about commitment. I know I am. It does open us up though to be hurt. This discussion reminds me of a song lyric,
“Pain begins at the point of trust like life begins at the very flash point of lust.” – The Odds “We’ll Talk” from the album “Good Weird Feeling.”
So if we trust someone, show loyalty, and commitment, it will give us pain at some point. But all the other feelings it opens us up to make it worthwhile. I know that I have been hurt and it has taken me a long time to move on, but I feel like I am finally ready to.
I definately agree with everything being said, but I find it a little hypocrytical that a car commercial is talking about commitment…
I do enjoy this commercial as well.
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