5 March 2009

Everywhere you look is the result of a mentality of obesity - acceptance and even embrace.  Too much to eat?  Oh, way more than that.

Credit is a good part of it - buy now pay later, or don't bother: "debt is a way of life."  Appetite goes right along with that - the credit is only good to buy what we want, and what is that?  Everything Madison Avenue tells us we have to have and can't do without, if we are going to keep up, that is; we have to keep up, y'know, it's our competitive nature.  Bigger and better; and more.  It is a spiraling thing y'know; the more appetite and credit the more supply - of all kinds.  And hey, that's good for jobs.  And when they are giving away credit cheap, hey, why not?  Hey.

'Can't blame the government for pushing that, can you?  Push for more credit for more people, take credit for it (no pun intended) and get reelected - over and over again.  But, as with the law of gravity, there is always an end to it: what goes up must come down and the bubble bursts.  Actually that's not entirely true; continual growth is possible, if responsible.  But we weren't and we aren't and now the inevitable.

What caused the bust?  Irresponsible excess.  Look anywhere you like - an obesity mentality - more more more bigger bigger bigger better better better.  But the mentality is what is key - we learn to accept it, even expect it, and no longer see it as what it is: digusting excess.  There is another part of ours however: ours is an egalitarian obesity mentality.  We have to all have bigger and better, and our bigger and better has to be bigger and better than those around us - competitive egalitarianism; how's that for a juicy oxymoron?

The automobile industry and its unions?  Fat and happy.  Our credit institutions?  Fatter and fatter and fatter and loving it.  Government?  Hey, talking about fat; wow.  Malls? Cars?  Vacations?  Even our social connections  - on line friends, popularity, exposure, professional athletics, Hollywood.  Everything is bigger and better in America.  And when suddenly things turn sour, as they always do, we look for someone to blame, so we can punish them (it) and get it all back.  It's not fair!  Note the blame is not egalitarian.

We are not going to stop looking for culprits; but we also are unlikely to take our medicine either.  How do we get it back?  Spend spend spend; that is, the government spends taxpayer money so that we'll all get our confidence back -  our  confidence in credit, employment, security; our comfort with obesity.  Big is beautiful; and we expect it, demand it, deserve it.  We are in an age of very little personal responsibility and very much blamism; we have long ago rejected acceptance of punishment, so forget that.

Unfortunately not accepting and not taking responsibility is going to make it much worse in the long run, especially when the government is ready and willing to step in and take care of it for us - for a price of course - and for now.  Share the pain?  Oh, share.  That means stick it to someone else.  I understand; Makes perfect egalitarian sense.