Economic rehab, eli kuluttamisen katkaisuhoito

Nyt tuli törmättyä niin tärkeään juttuun/artikkeliin, että se on pakko levittää. Yksi suosikkihahmoistamme, Louis C.K., oli taannoin Conanin showssa vierailemassa. Hän otti esiin taantuman/laman/mikätämänytsittenonkaan hyvän pointin: meidän pitää rauhoittua ja oppia taas elämään realiteeteissa. Nyt hän jatkaa aiheesta Vanity Fairin jutussa:

You seem genuinely delighted that the foundations of capitalism are crumbling. Are you just naturally a glass-half-full kinda guy, or do you think consumerism has corrupted us?

I just don't trust any of it. Every time I read something about how there's been another ridiculous climb of the Dow Jones, there's a part of me that goes, “This can't be good.” None of this is real money. You know what I mean? It's not like there's actually more of anything. It's just ideas. When people are getting richer and richer but they're not actually producing anything, it can't end well.

Another Great Depression might do us some good. It'd be like economic rehab.

That's exactly what it is. It's forcing us back to reality. “Wait, I only have the money I make from work? How am I supposed to live on that?” Figure it out. We've spent so many years being spoiled that we don't know how to live anymore.

Technology was supposed to save us, giving us jetpacks and robot maids and making life easier. What went wrong?

I think people just got numb to it all. It seems like the better it gets, the more miserable people become. There's never a technological advancement where people think, “Wow, we can finallyWhy not?!” And I think a lot of it has to do with advertising. Americans have it constantly drilled into our heads, every fucking day, that we deserve everything to be perfect all the time. do this!” It's always, “We can't do that yet?

That's true. Most successful commercials are based on selling entitlement.

They all try to remind you of how cool you are. “You're so cool, you park your S.U.V. on a mountainside when you climb.” What? No, I don't do that at all. Nobody I know is doing that. “You deserve the best cause you work so hard!” Actually, no, I don't work hard. I waste most of my time at work. Everybody does.

Toinen vastaavanlainen case kuin Lous CK:n esille nostama kulutuksen ja mainonnan aiheuttama yliannostus, on seksin yliannostus. Sitä jauhetaan ja siitä jauhetaan joka paikassa. Sitten ihmetellään kotiolojen "ongelmia" ja kaivetaan asioita suhteiden sisältä, kun syy todellisuudessa on 24/7/365 mediarummutuksen (seksi myy... my ass!) aiheuttamaa.

Onko 2010-luvun ihminen siis vain ylitylsistynyt (englanniksi: numb) kasa lihaa ja luita, joka istuu 2500 euron portugalilaisella kotisohvallaan, täydellisesti sisustetussa kodissaan, uusinta Playstation 5:n kaukosäädintä painellen - ihan vitun velkaantuneena? Vai voisiko hän olla taas ihminen, joka elää omien varojensa ja luonnonvarojensa mukaisesti ystäviään tapaillen ja onnellisena?

It's up to you.