I suppose that today's title, like all of them, does have some obscure link to the subject when I think about it. That is often how my brain works. I'm thinking about something specific, and before I know it my brain links whatever that specific thing is to something seemingly completely off topic. Last night I saw this appear on my feed:
To me, this is very compelling. It sums up the mindset that has been prevalent in our society for years. It is representative of the magical thinking that so many people subscribe to unwittingly in their everyday lives. Psychics? Sure, that can be a thing. Unregulated herbal supplements curing everything from excess belly fat to my waning metabolism? Sign me up. Big Foot? Why not! The thought processes portrayed in the image collectively illustrate a larger ethos. An ethos that is very persistent and susceptible to flare-ups, just like herpes. (I either completely pulled that out of my ass, or my brain is way smarter than I am.)
Years ago I was a card-carrying member of the bandwagon. I believed in ghosts and aliens and psychics. When I was younger, I was often a bit paranoid about making fun of people in my head for fear they were some covert psychic. It's obvious good practice in general to not think bad of complete strangers, but I was genuinely afraid that they might be able to read my shitty thoughts about them. Thanks Hollywood! I also did school projects on Aliens and Astrology. I have an embarrassing amount of terrible information floating around in my head on these subjects. Perhaps I was a very impressionable teen. Today I am still an often easily impressionable adult, particularly when it comes to those few people I admire and respect. I've made a part-time job often giving people the benefit of the doubt, even when I have no real reason to give it to them.
To be fair, I think most of the specific ideas represented in the above image are dismissed by most people. However, I also believe that most people would not condemn them either. I'm not saying they should buy the t-shirt or join the picket line, but I feel they should really recognize that these ideas have no supporting evidence whatsoever. We like to default to the idea of "keeping an open mind." I believe people think that if they outwardly denounce the deplorable psychic profession, they think they would not be allowed to embrace it later if the science actually began to back it up, (it won't). If cancer is cured tomorrow by an overpriced supplement, I think you would see every doctor on the planet suiting up for the party.
Unfortunately the truth can be a bit grim, particularly to those who are suffering. Cancer sucks, and when modern medicine fails the snake-oil salesmen swoop in. After the life-savings is drained and the inevitable happens, the psychic comes to the rescue to reconnect you with the recently departed while you connect them with your second-mortgage. Millions of dollars are wasted by the time anyone realizes they've been had, and lobbying governments against outlawing these deplorable practices becomes chump-change. This is why we refer to psychics as "grief-vampires." Then again, maybe your recently departed mother is speaking to someone from beyond the grave, only she can't remember her name. It starts with an "M." Maybe it's "Mary" or "Melissa", or "Mudflap." In reality, I think it's much more likely that John Edwards is the biggest douche in the universe.
The overall thought processes that allow these types of ideas to persist is only becoming more prevalent. It's really no wonder when we have quackery in the form of Dr. Oz consumed by millions of people daily. It's no surprise when we've allowed the politicization of scientific facts, or when we allow personal opinions and ideas to be passed off as facts and then televise them to audiences of millions. This editorial show on my favorite news network told me I am being lied to by the government about climate change. I have no reason to believe this non-expert on the subject but damn it, I will. Hey look, they have a scientist on to debunk it! Who cares if he's being paid by Exxon, they're a job creator! Even though I personally have no financial stake in the debate, I'll side with commentator and the hack-scientist because fuck those liberals! I fully recognize that I illustrated my point ages ago, and that the above is a bit of a straw-man argument, but I have a nonexistent word quota to meet.
Anyway, I'm sure it's obvious that this blog has its feet pretty decently planted, it just doesn't know exactly which direction to face. My voice is strong. It has the will and determination of a 10-year-old girl with gum in her hair. Don't you dare suggest we just "cut it out!" The things you own end up owning you. I'm tightening my belt by one loop so I don't have to feel the hunger pains. I am nice man with happy feelings, all of the time! Now excuse me, I always start drinking at noon on my day off. You don't get to interrupt that.
TL;DR: Stop believing stupid shit based on no actual evidence whatsoever.
STL;DR: Seriously, staaaph.
IHTASOAN; DR: I have no idea why I decided to end each blog post this way. I can't decide if I like it, or if it is actively contributing to my ball pain. On a side note, while sitting here writing this my lamp magically turned itself on. Now that is either the shittiest ghost story you've ever heard, or my fucking lamp, like many, has a piece of shit switch that often malfunctions. To recap my options are "ghost", or "shitty on/off switch." Like many people, I'm going with ghost.
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