This recession is really starting to wear on me, but I guess not for the same reasons as most other people. For me, my angst is coming from the fact that most other people are getting all caught up in this Recession Mentality and clinging to it for dear life, foisting it on others and forcing this groupthink on even those who wish to disagree. It’s bringing out the worst in common society, and it’s seriously starting to piss me off.
While it’s very easy for people to shake their fists at big faceless banking companies and failing financial groups with initials for names, the behavior is all really just a continuation of overall public stupidity. We got ourselves into this mess. Yeah, you and me. The couple down the street who got into a mortgage they couldn’t possibly afford. The big spenders who loaded up the credit cards thinking they could deal with just paying the minimum due each month, forever. The individuals investors who knew from day one that any money they put out into the market could be totally wiped out, didn’t read the fine print and invested their entire savings with charlatan scheisters and yet are refusing to accept this reality and are expecting a the others to save them, while rabidly crying outrage when larger companies do the exact same thing. And the loudmouths who, after digging their own holes, are instead more willing to expend energy bellowing at the top of their lungs about how they been wronged rather than focusing on digging out of the mess they got into.
When things were good, people complained the banks weren’t pulling credit out of their asses fast enough. Now things are bad, and suddenly everyone’s a victim. And yet at the same time, everyone’s an armchair quarterback and thinks they know The Answer to get us out of this mess.
You can find really good examples of this on YouTube, the quintessential home of ignorant, pompous windbags who have nothing better to do with their time. Here’s a perfect example of a guy who Thinks He Knows Everything, but in reality brings nothing to the table, save the dialogue he parrots from cable news outlets:
Did you actually sit through all that drivel? If you did, I’m so sorry. However, I think I DID warn you…
If you see yourself being a budding YouTube star by posting similar dreck, then it’s time I let you in on something you probably don’t want to acknowledge: You, yes You, don’t know the answer to getting us out of this Recession mess. If you did, chances are, someone else would’ve already figured it out before you and done something. In fact, maybe they already are, and yet our mentality of instant gratification isn’t permitting us to accept it. But let’s face it, bub: You’re not a genius, and there’s lots of smarter people out there who are already working on this one. That’s why we elect people to handle the Big Problems for us; we presume they’re better at this than we average joes are. And if we elected an incompetent buffoon to make things worse than they already are, well, whose fault is that?
Sadly, in times like these, people absolutely refuse to face this reality. And as a result, a number of traits come out in people that I really hate. The Big Crisis becomes the Talk of the Day, and then these tired clichés start getting repeated over and over. They start in the media, denote a special level of selfnishness, ignorance and stupidity, and become these horrid, vapid catchphrases that mean absolutely nothing and contribute zlich to meaningful conversation.
Over the next couple of days, I’m going to list some of my most-hated economic clichés and mindsets. Then I’m going to cap it with what I think needs to be done. I mean after all, if everyone else has a stupid opinion, why can’t I?
This series is going to annoy some and insult others. That’s just too bad. If you share the mindsets I lambast in this series, then frankly, you’re the type of person I think needs a swift kick in the ass, more than any AIG or Merryl exec. So, get ready to bend over and take it.
