Thursday, November 13, 2008

See, this is what I'm talking about



Picture one was on the front page of The Globe and Mail's online edition when I came into work this morning. The headline read: Developed world in recession. Cue frazzled broker with head in hands.

I want to take the editor of every newspaper in North America, along with the wailing coyotes from CNN, and bang their heads together.

You're not helping!

Scaring people will only make it worse.

People are scared of: losing their job, keeping their job, losing their house, watching their house devalue, losing their retirement income, never being able to recover from this economic downturn and it goes on. And that doesn't even include the other scary things like global warming, rising cancer rates, and the Guy Ritchie and Madonna divorce proceedings.

And we all know what fear does. It immobilizes.

Remember how, immediately following 9/11, they repeatedly showed that horrific image of the second plane hitting the World Trade Centre? They did it for a couple of days until someone finally clued in and said: "Okay, we get it. But concentrating on the horror isn't going to fix anything. It just makes us afraid to leave our houses."

So here's what I'm going to do today.

I'm going to give some money away. Not a lot. But enough that I know I'm giving it.

You see, I've found that the more I give out, the more I get back. Funny how that happens.

Charities are the first to feel the pinch of discretionary spending cuts, so I'm sure I can find one that needs my money more than I do.

I'll bet you it works, too. I'll bet you that it comes back to me.

But you know what -- if it doesn't, that's okay too.

You see, I'd rather be a smiling kitten than a stock broker any day.

5 comments:

Blodwynn said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Blodwynn said...

totally, excellent, wonderful blog today.

I'm sending your blog to Obama.

Donations can be sent to:

www.freetheexcentricartdirectorslost
inthepacificoceanwithoutbordersunited
forequality.com

(I'm changing my name to my word verification today: "Eminique")

Anonymous said...

You forgot clowns. i am scared of clowns. I'd rather have the frazzled stockbroker on the front page of the G&M than Ronald McDonald.

©km said...

Ronald McDonald is to clowns what Carrot Top is to comedians. A glaring example of what can go wrong.

word = hiessed

Joe said...

You are so right!

There may be a recession, but I have decided not to participate.

There is a story that goes somewhat like this;

"I heard there was a problem with the economy, so I did not buy anything. And so I told my neighbor. And my neighbor agreed and he did not buy anything. And so he told his neighbor. So, on it went. And soon we saw that no one was buying. And then it was confirmed, there was a recession. And because no one was buying anything, my company didn't need me because no one was buying what I was making. And they laid me off.

See, I told you there was a problem with the economy."

I remember reading a book years ago, and somewhere in the passages of the book it talked about a tombstone in a graveyard that stated;

"I told you I was sick."

Yep. That says it all.

I am spending too. And going to donate/not hoard. The Law of Circulation is what I am reminded of.