Monday, September 29, 2008

Don't Panic?

After sending the following queries to my two best friends, I thought I'd share them with the world, not, Bill, because I think anyone in particular is reading this, but because I want my reaction noted for posterity. If we quickly devolve to hunter/gatherers, just before I get trampled by a giant herd of buffalo, I want to be able to smile and think, "I toldja' so."

Tonight, before heading off to Open House at school, I watched the tail end of the local news, all of the national news, and the beginning of the local news again. I heard/read the words "Don't Panic" at least four times. Just now, it's fully sinking in. How often does one hear that phrase on the news? How often is panic an entirely appropriate response? Could the answers to those two questions be identical?

As a person who owns a whopping zero shares of stock, I will be paying attention to how the Dow does tomorrow.

Is it wrong to fantasize about a complete collapse of the global economy? How often should one participate in such fantasies? Is it the same answer?

3 comments:

donutwolf said...

Really, don't panic. It's only a single day drop worse than after 9-11...everything will be fine, go by yourself a newer, bigger flatscreen. (bill)

Jed Carosaari said...

It's a good point. The US press lives like zombies off the fear of Americans. I was so impressed by this after leaving Morocco, and flooded by the daily diet of fear the media force-feeds us. And now, suddenly, they tell us not to be afraid?

The chimera metamorphosis of the media should scare us more than anything else.

donutwolf said...

you may be getting your wish...scary times. Unfortunately, i don't think American's will learn from it absent something worse than the Great Depression. Europeans seem to have figured out that having everyone share some societal burdens is an acceptable "infringement" upon an individual's ability to grow wealth; our country is too young and stupid to realize that. We haven't gone through anything bad enough for the vast majority to come to the appropriate conclusion and it will take alot to shake the ignorant masses greedy, myopic belief in "someday i'll be rich too" capitalism.