When Coincidence, Isn't

Somedays It Seems Like This


If you have read enough of this blog you probably know that I am a bit frustrated with some of the people that I have to interact with on a daily basis. My expectations of others may be a bit too high and maybe I should think about lowering them. Or, there is always the conspiracy theory.

I was pondering this in my favorite pondering place the other day, the men's bathroom stall. I get a lot of good blogging ideas in that little room. On one recent visit, my brain started analyzing some things that have been bugging me and I came up with some interesting 'what if scenarios'.

Many of the things that drive me nuts are not one-off occurrences. They are repetitive, they happen more than once, often times involving the same people, over and over. There comes a point where what initially looks like random stupidity starts to form a pattern. Where there are patterns there is predictability and organization.

Which leads me to the concern that we are really dumbing down over time and that we just don't perceive it because it is so slow and gradual.

Back in the 1950s there was a classic science fiction film called "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". This films underlying premise was based on the concept of the communist conspiracy that was overshadowing everything during the Cold War. The film has since been remade several times, most recently with Nicole Kidman, but nothing can really beat the original.

The premise behind the film was that as we slept, alien life forms were duplicating people into mindless zombies, that looked the same as the day before, but were emotionless and hollow. Sometimes, I have the feeling I am in a real life version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers".

If we all wake up tomorrow to find that our spouse / significant other has forgotten how to operate the car. Would we wonder if it is early Alzheimers or is someone putting something in the water to make us more stupid? Rarely does cultural change happen overnight. Most of the time it is gradual from generation to generation. However, the people born into today's media generation don't tend to see things this way and have a hard time understanding the concept of gradual change. Be it change for the good or change for the worse.

If a terrorist really wanted to 'defeat' us over time, they wouldn't be blowing things up. They would be finding slow, undetectable ways of dumbing us down with chemicals or media saturation. Or worse yet, we could be doing this to ourselves and not even know it. We don't know yet if using 'Splenda' or 'Equal' in our coffee might shrink our brains over generations.

Some of the recent patterns that really make me wonder about all this are:

The issues with my job (here are a few examples); "Example-1", "Example-2", "Example-3", "Example-4"

Auto Bailouts....doesn't anyone remember that we bailed out Chrysler once already about 20 years ago, and now they are back looking for more loan guarantees?

Bank Failures.....I can understand one or two.....but almost every large financial institution in the country is going down the tubes and none of the CEOs saw this coming? [Enron, Lehman Brothers, AIG, Washington Mutual...the list is endless]

Sex Scandals w/Politicians: Bill Clinton, Eliot Spitzer, John Edwards, John Kennedy, Quami Kilpatrick....absolute power corrupts absolutely, but don't you think these guys would learn? .... not if they are using enough 'Splenda' they won't.

If a person has 6 auto accidents in 6 years, is it the car, the other drivers on the road or the owner who can't pay attention? As the driver you are choosing to accept the risk knowing that the competency of other drivers might not be that great based on the number of accidents in your area. However, when we do get into an accident (at least here), you are encouraged to assume it is someone else's fault and sue them (cha ching).

Your assumption of the risk has no bearing on your probability of getting injured. Therefore, the premise of interacting with other people that you know to be stupid means a win-fall for you? This is akin to doing jump rope in a minefield and then suing the land owner for your missing foot, even though the mine field is clearly posted. Are we really dumbing down this much?

I am starting to get worried....I am going to dig a bomb shelter for when the mindless zombies come looking for me in mass. At times, it seems like they already are. I can stock it full of food, LaserDiscs, Playboys and ..... lots of 'Splenda'.