Ahh, the radio at work. Next to my sister Susan, it's one of my most consistent sources for blogging inspiration! No need to worry, we're still tuned in to JACK, so I'm not suffering through the world's smallest and most annoying playlist (aka star 101.5) anymore. But while Jack's playlist is immense and mostly good, they still sell airtime to any fool with an open wallet... And lately, there are more and more commercials that use the same phrase... It's started to sound like that old classic, Fingernails on the Blackboard.
The phrase is "It's Not Your Fault!"
It's EVERYWHERE!
If you've tried to lose weight but are still fat, don't worry - IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!
You want a fancy new laptop? All your friends have them but you can't afford one? IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!
Are you mired in credit card debt? Well, IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!
The thing that's really getting rough is that all three of those commercials play on nearly every commercial break, all day long. As I listen to the soothing, understanding voices explain why THEY can make everything better - and transform you into a skinny, out of debt, laptop owner, I can't help but ponder our nation's - and the world's - financial situation.
How did we get here? A large part of it started with people who didn't have enough income to afford a house, and couldn't save up a down payment because, well, it IS hard to save up a bunch of money. But through the miracle of "IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!", they were handed out home loans they couldn't afford. SOME of the loan recipients probably COULD have afforded their loans, IF they curbed ALL frivolous spending. An even smaller portion of those people probably even tried to, cutting out the daily trip to Starbucks, maybe switching to generic cigarettes... But without a ton of discipline, those habits creep right back into the daily routine and suddenly the end of the month comes and there's no money for the house payment.
Cindy and I were in a situation a few years ago where a mortgage broker was trying his hardest to get us into a "New Kind Of Home Loan" from Washington Mutual. After a few meetings, we both felt that the whole program not only felt irresponsible, but it crossed the line and was downright sleazy.
Needless to say, we were very relieved to NOT be impacted by WaMu's meltdown a couple weeks ago.
So here's the deal: Maybe, JUST MAYBE... Situations you find yourself in ARE, at least a little, YOUR OWN FAULT! If you have tried losing weight and failed, TRY AGAIN, AND TRY HARDER! Man... I've lost nearly 50 pounds in the past 18 months or so. I still have another 20-30 to go before I reach my final goal. By the original timeline I'd worked out, I should have reached that already. But the fact of the matter is, IT'S HARD! And it's nobody's fault but my own, that I haven't gotten there yet. The difference is, I realize, and accept this. Rather than call some toll free number from an ad promising that IT'S NOT MY FAULT, I was up at 4:30 this morning playing racketball. I'm ignoring the movie theater butter popcorn in the breakroom. I'm making small changes in my lifestyle that will compound over time to get me where I want to be.
The general state of society today is one of no responsibility. Not for their kids, not for themselves, not for their jobs, their commitments... It's all about what they can get the easy way. That laptop you can get just by calling this toll free number is going to cost you about three times what you'd spend by saving up for a couple months and hitting Office Depot on the Monday after their latest ad hits.
Here's another nugget o' wisdom: JUST BECAUSE THEY OFFER YOU A LOAN, OR A CREDIT CARD, DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD TAKE IT! While the "predatory lenders" love to fill my mailbox with "pre-approved" credit card offers, they can't stop me from taking those offers over to the shredder and making some confetti.
I really hope that the financial shakedown going on will result in a wake-up call to the basic responsibilities of life. Because unless you're talking about natural disasters or freak accidents, most of the stuff people are all hysterical about is very much SOMEBODY'S fault.
Hey little brother - pretty conservative stuff. Amen!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post Mike, I agree with you one hundred percent ( so much so that if you will notice I even took the time to WRITE out the one hundred percent)Those ads just make me sick. The ones I hate the most are the sleezy lawyers telling all the drunk drivers of the world that it's "NOT YOUR FAULT". Talk about the last thing these drunks need to hear. The psychology behind these horrible commercials is so obviously aimed at the white trash and brown trash segment of society. People who instead of taking responsibility for their stupid actions, just bitch and complain and blame everyone else but themselves. As much as I hate those ads, the sad part is that they are more a symptom than the problem of our screwed up world.
ReplyDeleteOn a much brighter note. I love "I don't feel like dancing", I have it downloaded and put on a cd along with several other Scissor Sisters songs. They are a fun group, and it's sad that a lot of people won't give them a chance because of their gay roots.
Yeppers Dude.
ReplyDeleteJanice - Thanks for the Amen! Is it really conservative stuff?? Or is it just that society has moved so far in the other direction that straight-up, middle of the road common sense is what passes for conservatism these days??
ReplyDeleteSusan - Yeah, I love the Scissor Sisters' music! Do you have their cover of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb"? That was the first song I ever heard from them. Also, I'm curious - did you already know about them, or did I introduce you?
Jan - Sad but True. Thanks for the 'mment!
I love it! Every day now I see people shirking their personal responsibilities...the only good thing, is that I send them to collections...which is what they deserve!
ReplyDeleteIf you think you were the one who put yourself in all this debt, remember: IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!
ReplyDeleteIf you ate all those donuts and got 70 pounds heavier, remember: IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!!!
If you're actually beliving all this crap we're telling you, remember: IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!!!
So true. Accepting responsibility is one of the first steps to change.
ReplyDeleteActually it was Heidi who introduced me to Scissor Sisters. Have you heard their "Take your Mama out"? It was the one Heidi told me about and I just took it from there.
ReplyDelete