Fatale Abstraction

[my apologies for the following convoluted rant. It's just been brewing for a little while, and I needed to put it out there.]

The sky: she is not falling.



Enough with the freakout.

I'm not making light of what clearly is a magnificently nasty mess in the financial market, but we are in a completely different place than was the common person in the late 1920s. At that time, Americans were primarily agrarian and rural, rather than city-dwelling, and failure to rotate crops brewed up a nasty wallop in the form of the Dust Bowl, a drought which lasted from 1930 to 1936, and the blight of which emblazoned its stamp on generations of midwesterners. The double-whammy of drought and stock market crash really set people into a tailspin. But remember- these people were dirt-poor to begin with and had very little set aside, in a lot of cases.

Whatever does or doesn't happen with the mortgage industry, the structure in which you reside will not evaporate. Unless you decide to be so, you are not about to be homeless. Where we are vulnerable is our addiction to excess and luxury. Some of us are tougher than others.



Ironically, I think it's the shrinking 401Ks that has people freaking out. Yeah, that's significant, but it's a damned sight different from the situation of a midwestern farmer whose topsoil is wafting over the eastern seaboard. Quite different. A little perspective, darlings.



The media have stirred so many people into a foaming-at-the-mouth frenzy about every little thing that I wonder when these people will recognize the boy who cried wolf. Every single moment of our lives can not possibly be on the verge of collapse. I'm sick of hearing it, and I don't believe it.



Yes, serious times. By all means, the coming election is of great moment in our nation's history.



What is disturbing is the morons who allow themselves to be manipulated by those media who would whip them into a frenzy-- the same morons who would riot after a court verdict or when their ball team loses. Worse than volatility in the market is the potential of large groups of people to behave very badly, indeed.



I saw a bit of an interview - celebrity "journalist" *ack* and someone - I think Lindsay Lohan (how bad do you have to be for Paris Hilton to call you firecrotch?), anyhoo, and the interviewer and interviewee were talking about Sarah Palin in that who-the-hell-does-she-think-she-is tone. No one ever heard of her before. She can't possibly be a breath away from the presidency?!!! Translation: She's not one of the anointed elite. After all, she's not one of us.



In comments on a Paul Begala article, a reader stated that at 52, she herself was not remotely able to take the reins of the vice-presidency, and at 43, Palin couldn't possibly be. Well, the fact is that like it or not, someone must step up to the plate. Doing what is right and what must be done is not something one can question, and just because one person is spineless and helpless rather than approaching life's challenges head-on doesn't make other people less capable of putting on their big-girl panties and having a swing at it. About 6 years ago, I took a 10 hour a week job as office girl for a company. My hours doubled within a week. I started showing apartments, and whaddayaknow - I was good at it! Within a year I was assistant manager for several properties, and another year later, I was the manager. Of a substantial chunk of real estate. Yeah, I came into it sideways, and if they'd asked me to do what I do today rather than the 10 hours a week, I would have thought it impossible for me. But now I know I can do that. There must be other things I am capable of which I never imagined. Most people go through their lives never realizing their full potential because they have accepted the defeat the media and general naysayers have said is their only option.



I saw a video on YouTube at the Atavist's blog which really inspired me. Nathaniel Brandon (associate of Ayn Rand) was talking about realizing one's potential. He said "what would happen if you were just 5% more present in your every task" or words to that effect. It was amazing. I drift, I daydream, I get bored and forget what I'm doing. Just a teeny bit more concentration does wonders for striking items off my to do list. Clearly, the commenter on the Begala article needs to watch Brandon's videos.



Chris Rock was on David Letterman bitching about the Clintons not being on board with Obama-- he clearly was nervous that Obama won't be able to hoodwink the cracker vote.



Someone in comments in an article about Bill Clinton's Larry King appearance was lambasting Hillary saying to get on board, that 2012 would be her year. Um, well, if Obama is elected, uh, won't the democrats give him the nomination again in 2012? I can't see an incentive there for Hils to carry Barry's water, honestly.

It's all going to be very interesting. Yeah, some of it may be bad and have terrible consequences for a lot of people, but that's life. Death, tragedy, taxes and upheaval are all part of life. The wise thing is to savour life, to prepare as best one can for hardships and to get on with making the most of time with our dear ones here and now.

The sky is not falling. It's not falling on me, anyhow.

That is all.