People are like babies; one can say whatever he wishes to another and as long as it's presented in a positive tone with a smile on one's face the content matters very little. Don't believe me? Try saying this to a baby with a high pitch and a smile: "You're a stupid little baby! Yes, you are! Nobody likes you!" Did the baby smile? Of course he or she did. As children we respond to sounds and tones long before we understand the meaning of words. We learn to react to the energy and reactions of others as we grow- A toddler falls and immediately looks up to see who notices...adults show concern: toddler cries...adults laugh it off: toddler sucks it up. The problem is most of us never outgrow this and fail to control our emotions without outside influences.
Case in point: Occupy Wall Street. The economy is in bad shape. We are all painfully aware of this...but what if we weren't aware? What if no one ever told us the economy was bad? What if the tone in the news and among others was not one of sorrow and frustration and was instead one of, well, normalcy?
For our parents and grandparents the economy is drastically different than what they're used to. Things are extremely difficult, by comparison. What they've known to this point is: "if I purchase a mutual fund, it goes up over time; if I purchase a home it will be worth more in the future than it is today; if I get an advanced degree I will get a higher paying job..." and so on. Things are not that way any longer and for those of us who have or are entering the work force from roughly 2004 on we don't know any better. For the rest of us the economy is not bad...it just IS.
I don't believe the economy is in bad shape because I, personally, have no reference point for comparison. All I know of the world is the way things are currently and, as a result, I know if I want to excel, thrive, or simply survive I have to work hard (seems odd to present this as some sort of revelation). We are no longer part of the "if I go to law school I will get a six-figure job" era. In fact, for most of my peers we were never part of that era, even if we went to law school expecting this outcome. So what if no one told you the economy stinks? What if people, instead, told you this was the way of the world? What if all you knew the economy to be was the way it is currently and not what you read or heard about historically? What if social programs and subsidies didn't exist? What if you had to compete for a job as opposed to simply landing one out of college? What if? What would YOU do?
I understand there are unfortunate circumstances and bad things happen to good people. Such is the way of the world and I feel very fortunate to have not landed on that side of things to this point. However, I have zero sympathy for people my age who expect what has not been earned. This, by the way, includes a job! The sooner you accept the economy is simply the way it is and learn to fight for what you want the better off you'll be. Think about it: if you can learn to thrive in today's climate imagine how great things will be when the economy returns to what our parents and grandparents grew accustomed to! You'll be so far ahead of the curve no one will ever catch you! Stop feeling sorry for yourself and blaming others for things you can control. Get to work. Can't "find" a job? I'm hiring...call me.
There is a fine line between optimism and ignorance and successful people walk through life with one foot on each side.
Josh,
ReplyDeleteI found this interesting and wanted to respond.
My point may not be directly related to your writing, but I believe there is some relevancy to it.
You bring up a good point that the economy today is much different than it was for our parents and grandparents. They can look at the current situation and specify all the differences from then and now. Our generation may not be able to do that, and I don't think we are trained to do that. I think that the majority of Americans don't really take the time to actually think about things like this, they go on with day to day life and just take it as it is. You can argue that you have to, it just "Is". They may look back one day and say, "Man, things were really different."
I think you are right, if you compare our economy to nothing, things are pretty good. I'm happy to be an American and I'm happy I can afford to live a semi-comfortable life at the moment. However, I don't think we should be settling for the current condition of our nation.
I personally feel like the economy is pretty bad. I think this not only because of the current economic situation, but also because I don't see any change happening in the near future. Our debt was increased by $4.9 trillion under the Bush administration (http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2011/08/national-debt-has-now-increased-4-trillion-obama-blames-bush/) and $4 trillion under Obama. Last year we were about to default on our debt, so what did we do? Instead of balance the budget like a normal person would do, they increased the debt ceiling in exchange for a measly $1 trillion debt reduction over 10 years. Not very responsible in my eyes, and it didn't set the table for a very "Good" economy in the future.
I agree with you in the sense that most people probably don't think twice about this. In fact, most people probably didn't take the time to educate themselves about what was happening at that time or what that means for the American people. Instead we just go along with our daily life and try to get by while the government is destroying our country. We have become so tolerant of this because it hasn't happened overnight, it has happened over a period of time that doesn't allow us to see the contrast right away. One day we will wake up and ask, "Jesus, what happened to this country?"
We do have to play the cards we are dealt, and the people who get out there and fight against all odds to get ahead in this economy are the ones that will succeed IF things do get better. I don't think I'm confident in saying that things will get better. If anyone can argue against that I welcome it. However, I think that there is only one person who can change Washington, but we will save that for another blog :).
As far as your point for talking to babies, you are 100% right. Look at media. Most people tend to take their messages for truth and don't do their due diligence. If they say something in a positive way or hit our core values, we accept it. We aren't trained to ask questions or challenge the status quo.
I think we do need to understand the way the economy is at the moment, and do our best to work in the circumstances we have, but accepting it is another thing. I will for sure not accept it. I will vote, then vote with my feet if things don't change. I hope they do, I love America, and I love living here and raising a family here. But if you look at what the government is doing to this nation, it is intolerable.