Saturday, March 7, 2009

"Pretty Scary It Is"


So today I am shedding a little "lyte" on attention spans.  Specifically, our lack of attention to what is important and our laser-like focus on what is not.  

This has been rough week in our economy.  Stocks are down, unemployment is up, it seems like there is nothing but bad news everywhere you turn.  And what makes the cover of the New York Times?  The fact that President Obama's hair is turning gray.  I wish I was kidding, but I am not.  What is wrong with this country?  We are facing some of the most serious problems in my lifetime and the paper of record is obsessed with the color of our president's hair.  Sweet weeping Jesus.   Remember what we were obsessing about this time last year?  The primaries; and were Hillary's tears genuine or not.  And about flag lapel pins.  Or are you supposed to put your hand over your heart when you pledge allegiance or when the national anthem is played?  These discussions were eating up some serious air time on our cable new networks and our collective attention span.  Seems like so long ago.

But the truth is that there were plenty of red flags waving last year.  The thing was, we were too busy trying to figure out if Obama really was referring to Sarah Palin when he made that "lipstick on pig" comment.  I was thankful when the economy started tanking in September because it refocused the campaign on actual issues.  Everybody got real serious real fast.  

But apparently not serious enough.  Now we want a recovery and we want it now.  Obama has been in office six weeks and he hasn't fixed it yet.  Is that why his hair is turning gray?  Look, destruction is a faster process than creation.  And right now we need a lot of creation:  job creation, idea creation, capital creation.  This creative process needs money and since we rid ourselves of that pesky budget surplus with a stroke of the pen back in 2000, we have to borrow the money.  That's reality, not some liberal conspiracy to "grow government".  

Any business person will tell you, it takes money to make money.  The government is the only body capable of stepping into this morass and put us on the right course.  A runaway free market got us into this mess, responsible governance will help get us out.  

But suddenly, the Republicans are now against wasteful spending.  No more earmarks!  Never mind that earmarks only constitute 1% of the federal budget.  Or that over 40% of the earmarks in the omnibus spending bill that they have stalled in the Senate are earmarks that they put in.  Don't confuse them with the facts.  As Stephen Colbert said, "Facts have a well-known liberal bias."

So what should we be paying attention to?  What is truly important?  Our relationships, our health, and our peace of mind.  Don't be led; pay attention, decide what is important to you and align your life accordingly.  Don't panic, panic only leads to fear and as Yoda said, "Fear leads to the dark side."  And it is dark enough already.  

 

 

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