Brokaw Preaches Virtues Of Simple Life . . . For Others

"We need to re-evaluate what is required in our lives, so that we have a sense of satisfaction.  What really counts?  One friend of mine has reduced it to this: you should get up in the morning and ask 'what do I need,' not just 'what do I want?'" -- Tom Brokaw, Morning Joe 11-1-11.

"Of course, one of the reasons I bought it was to be able to get away from the frantic life I lead and to have some privacy." -- Tom Brokaw, explaining his purchase of an interest in a 4,000-acre mountain retreat in Montana.

Tom Brokaw: a Michael Moore kind of millionaire?  We haven't seen him getting down with the Occupy kids like the documentary-maker recently did.  But there was Brokaw--who has amassed a reported $70 million and owns a 4000-acre "mountain retreat" in Montana--on Morning Joe today preaching the virtues of the simple life . . . for others. Video after the jump.

Brokaw offered his simple-life bromides during a Morning Joe appearance in which he promoted his latest book. Check out Brokaw's do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do spiel.

TOM BROKAW: The question which I keep getting asked by people as I go across the country which I think is essential to the American dream is: will my children have a better life than I have?  And we ought not to think about that just in terms of economic terms or quantitative terms--about piling up more cars, more houses, more things.

. . .

Having conversations with your children and your grandchildren about real values. We lost our way in housing in this country. Too many people were trying to buy houses; they couldn't afford them. And the houses got too large.  And they spending most of their day on a treadmill just trying to keep up with all of that. That too is part of the American Dream. For about 20 million Americans right now it's part of the American nightmare, because their homes are worth less than their mortgages at this point. So we need to re-evaluate what is required in our lives, so that we have a sense of satisfaction.  What really counts? One friend of mine has reduced it to this: you should get up in the morning and ask 'what do I need,' not just "what do I want?'

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: I love it.

 

Note: I imagine that, like me, most conservatives don't begrudge Brokaw making his millions and spending them as he pleases.  But do we really need to hear him preaching the virtues of the simple life to us?