John Q. Public

John Q. Public is mad.

But why?

in "Retirement Dreams Disappear with 401(k)s", a very worthwhile piece to read, the author doesn't find it hard to go out and find people that are disappointed about their investments and prospects and are only too happy (or angry) to blame someone, anyone, other than themselves. 

Yes people are mad, but as I asked before: WHY?  

Other than the obvious, that life is not fair, maybe, just maybe, John Q. Public is most angry because our unreasonable expectations are not going to be met.  We are not all going to be rich, and famous, and good looking, and thin, and healthy, and have fair haired, white toothed, angels for children that marry the perfect soul mate who "completes" them and completes the cycle, breeding a new family of Stepford wives and children.

Where did John Q. Public get the idea that his retirement, future health, business, job, whatever was going to be bigger, better, happier, etc... "world without end, Amen"?

From the Media.  Primarily Television, but also from Magazines, Movies, etc...  For the most part, we are not starving (looking at the folks living near my Tennessee farm waddle around on their fallen arches I'd say that was rather obvious), our needs are being met... But that is not our expectation.  T.V. told us that we would all be able to retire comfortably, happily surrounded by our "Leave it to Beaver" families... that Big Brother or Big Corporation would always be there to look out for our financial, healthcare, and dental needs, and that after 30 years of "working hard" we should expect to live another 30 years in comfortable retirement living off of the production of everybody else.

And now our collective bubble has been burst by the reality needle - and boy! Are we pissed off.

I want to go out and give the angry, depressed folks in the article a hug.  I want to introduce them to the teachings of Diogenes of Sinope (who famously told Alexander the Great to stand out of the rays of the sun (so that Diogenes could continue to work on his tan) after Alexander told him "Ask of me anything".  Diogenes replied "I ask you to stand aside, you are blocking the light"), I want a lot of things... perhaps I have unreasonable expectations, too.

There is no sweeping this under the proverbial rug.  The spell of mass delusion provided by endless hours of watching T.V. has been broken.  Maybe some will be philosophical enough to recognize that the recipients of welfare and food stamps enjoy a better "Standard of Living" than did Diogenes; yet Alexander the Great remarked that even though he owned the world and everything in it, Diogenes was the wealthier man - because Diogenes strove only to be happy.  Maybe others will recognize that sitting in front of a T.V., engaging in endless our hours of passive mind control... a "luxury" created by industrial wealth whether you are wealthy or not, was not nearly as rewarding as laboring at whatever task it is that provides for yourself and your family.

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I must confess that I am a regular reader of "Granny Miller".  I have never met her, but she is a self described overweight depressive.  

I find her brilliant and inspiring.

Anyway, I found this link and video on her site.  I hope you will read the post and watch the video (the spokesperson is easy on the eyes).

I am thrilled to see people normally associated with greater government intervention in our daily lives get hopping mad about government intervention.

You may not be following the American Agriculture story - YET.  You will be, trust me, as I firmly believe that will be the real crisis of the coming decade.  I find it amusing that the same political affiliates can understand that the government cannot be trusted to do the right thing in Agriculture CAN BE TRUSTED to do the right thing on social policy.

It is a start.  At least there is hope.

Mentatt (at) yahoo (dot) com