Two weeks ago, The Onion wrote an article called “Time Between Thing Being Amusing, Extremely Irritating Down To 4 Minutes”. The article quotes fake research data showing new memes come and go quicker than ever before, with most people realizing after just 90 seconds that the thing was never funny to begin with.
They predict that by the year 2023 the feelings of amusement and irritation will happen simultaneously, “the two emotions effectively canceling each other out and leaving one feeling nothing whatsoever.”
It would be fantastic if every living human being were as intelligent as an Onion editor.
To talk seriously for a moment, this kind of self-awareness is absent from most aspects of our mass culture. It’s the reason this country’s government is so far in debt that by Friday, Washington might be shut down because it has run out of money it can legally borrow and bipartisan politics have left us with no new budget. It’s the reason we’re one of the fattest nations in the world, and whine about also having some of the highest health care costs needed to cover our fat asses.
It’s the reason “Friday” has almost 90 million views.
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Gandhi said it best. Once I realized I had a weight problem, I put myself on a diet and I’ve lost almost 40 pounds in the last year. I’ve made a spending budget so I can stay out of debt, and I stick to it, even if that means going without something I want sometimes. And I would resign as President of DFTBA Records before I would sign Rebecca Black.
If you’re aware of a problem, but do nothing to change your own life, and nothing to encourage others to change, you have no right to whine about it. I’m far from perfect, believe me, but I am making real strides to be healthier, wealthier and to educate everyone I can reach who will listen, so they have the opportunity to do the same.
I’m currently writing an ebook called “Don’t Be Broke: A Guide to Money for Young People”. It will most likely be free, or at least, very inexpensive. I hope it changes everyone who reads it, the way a proper personal finances education has changed me. I might not be able to persuade or fix the government’s budget, but every revolution begins with a single act of defiance. So, for now, I’ll just work on changing your budget.
As you notice problems, big and small, all around you, don’t be lazy, fix them! Don’t do it tomorrow, do it today. If you’re sick and tired of seeing twin babies talk to each other in front of a fridge, DON’T share the link the next time something else just as drained of substance shows up in the trending topics. It’s really that simple. If we all just agree to stop supporting and sharing (and re-electing) the stupid, it will eventually go away.
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The new book sounds like an amazing idea! I feel like I’m generally on top of my finances and staying out of debt, but it would be interesting to see another opinion on the “right” way to do things. Do you have any idea when the new book will be ready?
Alan, you must never forget to be awesome. Looking forward to the ebook!
Glad to hear about the book! I was wondering what happened to the financial blog you wrote. I took a piece of advice from that blog and have been working to clean up my credit history. It’s certainly far from ideal right now, but hopefully within two years all my bad debt will be gone.