Fear: America’s Favorite Past Time

It has grown deathly apparent that we live in a consumer driven market. Meaning that if consumers stop buying, the market collapses. Therefore, to earn a higher wage and to boost the economy, everyone needs to buy. It’s kind of circular… you need to spend money to make more money.

It’s a perfect economic system as long as the circle has momentum. If it loses it’s momentum, you need to start over.. slowly. It’s like riding a bike, as the cliché goes, however, the analogy seems to work nonetheless in this scenario. At higher speeds, it’s much easier to maneuver your bike. You can weave and turn as you please; but, try having that same versatility and stability while biking next to a pedestrian. It makes for a very tricky balancing act. As so is with our economy.

How do we keep this nation’s economy in continuous momentum? As Michael Moore so eloquently pointed out in his Bowling for Columbine film: FEAR. Yes, that’s right — the absolute most primitive emotion of mankind feeds our yearning desire to buy. It’s interesting how marketers have been able to exploit, control and manipulate this uncontrollable human reaction to their benefit. Everyone from old to young is scared into behaving (buying) in a certain way. Now, don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a “problem” — merely something interesting to think about when you shower.

It starts early on in life and continues well past retirement. Expecting parents fear for their baby’s health, so they spend, spend and spend. Parents fear all sorts of things for their toddlers, so they spend, spend and spend. Young boys and girls fear being made fun of at school, so they make their parents spend, spend and spend. Prepubescent kids must have the latest in fashion or they will be marked losers at school.. again, spend, spend and spend. Teenagers must have what’s ‘cool’ in order to attract a partner, otherwise, they fear they will die alone. Young adults must have that brand-new vehicle in competition with their friends — it’s all about fear. When you strip it cold and naked, you realize it’s nothing but fear.

Fear’s ability to force us to behave in a certain way is modern time’s version of CTRL-ALT-DELETE. It served as a final warning that you must precipitate in this certain way, otherwise, you’ve historically understood that it is not for your well being. We don’t tell our boss or co-workers what we really think of them because we fear losing our job. And losing our job would mean lack of income and therefore we couldn’t buy all the things we’re afraid of not having. Basically, we live in fear to ensure we don’t have to be afraid. What a circular argument, eh? Interesting, seems a lot like our economy… wait… no… are you serious? There’s a correlation? GET OUT! I don’t believe… Well, I’m sorry, but I protest there is.

Not only is there a correlation between the two, but rather, they depend on each other. If we stopped living in fear and based ourselves around need (and some wants!)… we wouldn’t have such a thriving economy. I believe most of Europe is an example of this. Otherwise, just take my word for it. Some people will retort that everything they do is based on want and not fear. They want that new car, they want that fancy watch, they want that house on the beach. That very well may be the case. Though, I believe those true people are definitely a handful and the exception and certainly not the rule. There are many things that we do for unknown reasons. Rationale is lacking, but desire is present. This is not the work of the devil; this is the lifetime achievement of marketers; though some may think two in the same.

We’ve all been conditioned in some extent. We’ve all be desensitized and desensitized to different things to varying degrees. I believe it’s time we stopped ruining our lives and made progress in human kind. I think I could not have ever said it better than Dr. Moorehead, former pastor of Seattle’s Overlake Christian Church:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things.

We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom.

I am not a religious man, but this man speaks with a sort of divinity and truth that I can only admire from afar. Sit back and really think about what he says. It’s time we simplified life. It’s time we began to enjoy ourselves and help each other. Sometimes I feel humanity is so far beyond repair that we require a certain catastrophe to put us back into shape. Maybe an alien attack would help unite mankind under one strong umbrella? It’s time love one another. Throw that other junk away.

Adieu. Navid.