More people these days are getting deep into paranoia about the economy. Paranoia, one manifestation of fear, grows out of other fears and uncertainties. If you see the value of your home sinking by 20, 30, or 50%; or if you've lost your job or are worried that you might, it's natural to look around for someone to blame. Politicians and talk-show hosts (anyone looking for "ratings" of one kind or another) aren't above trying to fan fears, either.
So, for example, one woman I know who once blamed the last Republican administration or a few bad bankers for our current pickle has moved on to claim that "they" -- this seems to include the government, both parties, all large corporations, executives, and I don't know who else -- "they" are just out to get our money. Both the depression and the solutions being enacted are part of a grand scheme "they" cooked up to keep us in economic bondage. It sounds a little Marxian - Karl, and the brothers too.
Paranoia does grow out of fear, but let's admit that it also grows out of self-denial. Things were going so well and now everything's a mess, so it must be someone else's fault, right? It couldn't be anything you did yourself. Yes, actually, it could. Collectively, too many of us were willing to believe the unbelievable. We maxed out the credit card, spent everything we made, invested our 401Ks in dicey instruments with unsustainable returns, believed that real estate could only go up, bought more house than we could afford, and accepted terms (no down payment, interest-only, loans larger than appraised value) that we knew deep down were too good to be true. And, we allowed our financial institutions to join the party too, so there was nobody to drive us home once we got drunk.
The times are ripe for demagogues. The antidote is being honest with ourselves.
Comments