Baby want to cuddle? We live as small children today. Nappy Time!
As I noted in Childhood's end, the level of maturity today is far less than a generation ago. And this is, perhaps by design, not accident. After all, children can be more readily controlled and manipulated than adults.
A reader writes in response to my Mea Culpa:
That was hilarious Robert.She is on to something. What marketers want us to do - which is often against our own self-interest - are the things that a child would want to do. And children have little or no impulse-control. They treat us like children - they infantalize us - and we act as children. And since we become children, we do what they tell us to. The TeeVee becomes the adult in the room.
As I laughed out loud my 13 year old son asked what I was laughing at.
I read him some of the points he would understand like about McDonalds. He totally agreed as in he though you were serious. He know thinks we should go for dinner there every night and get a new SUV to boot.
Clothing: We dress as children do in grade school. Short pants, a t-shirt, usually not tucked in. We dress like little kids!
Shoes: Baby Huey can't tie his laces! I know I struggled with it as a 5-year-old. But thanks to a whole new line of Crocs, sandals, topsiders, loafers, and other slip-on shoes, no one need bend over to tie their laces anymore. We can all live as toddlers again
Snugglies: These are like a baby blanket for grownups - you can sit on the couch and snuggle like a child.
Polar Fleece, Sweat clothes: These are children's pajamas for adults, and most people wear them because they are "comfortable". Suddenly, every day is a sleepover!
Food: We eat pizza, hot dogs, burgers, fries, soda, and ice-cream - as a regular diet! It is as if we were at a 6-year-old's birthday party, for crying out loud!
The Bottle: We suck water from bottles with nipples, like infants. We go to Starbucks and order a "coffee drink" which is mostly ice cream and whipped cream and caramel - a milkshake. We are looking for a giant teat to suckle on, it seems.
Toys: The difference between the men and boys is the size of their toys, and the cars of today look like the HotWheels we had as kids, replete with oversize rims and tires. Vrroom! Vrrrom! We bankrupt ourselves to have the baddest toys in the sandbox, and then say, Gimme! Mine!
Entertainment: This is ever-more infantile. While we had classic old movies back in the 1940's and 1950's, today's mainstream fare is explosion movies and fart jokes. These are short-attention span films that are full of motion and movement - the types of things children like. And the humor today makes the "Three Stooges" look like Shakespeare.
And none of this happened by accident. Marketers want to keep us as children - which is one reason TeeVee is aimed at a grade-school level of fascination. The more you watch, the more infantilized you get, until you start to think that Reality TeeVee is "interesting" and the news shows are "informative."
Adults are harder to fool than children. When you grow up and have real responsibilities - bills to pay, a mortgage to meet, retirement to fund - your inevitable death to deal with - you are less likely to fall for the peek-a-boo tricks that confound infants.
So, psychologically, if they can keep you an irresponsible youth for as long as possible - and get you to think this is a good thing - something to be proud of, then they have you.
And by the way, smoking pot is one way to remain an infant forever. There are very few, if any, responsible mature pot smokers - it is an oxymoron. And perhaps marijuana and beer are part of the problem.
But beyond that, there are many even sober "adults" who are little more than big, goofy children. Well into their 40's and 50's, they exhibit little or no impulse control, and latch onto whatever political cause you put in front of them - particularly a cause that tells them they can have it all now (Gimme!) at the expense of others, and of course, nothing is never, ever their fault. The TeeVee never gives you a "time out" in the corner or spanks you. No discipline - a child's dream!
And that is why so many Americans are like deer in the headlights today. Someone came and took away all their toys! Someone told them, no, you can't just eat candy and ice cream all day long, without developing type-II diabetes and getting your limbs lopped off.
Whaaaaaa! They cry. I want my mini-mansion! I want my new Camaro! I want my Jet Ski! I want a happy meal! And I am going to hold my breath and turn blue until I get it!
But, of course, this is not a very good strategy. Even if Mom and Dad (the Government) wanted to give us all out toys back, they can't - they're broke. So maybe it is time we all grew up and started acting responsibly - living within our means, not borrowing so much, and perhaps taking better care of ourselves.
What am I saying? This is America.
But beyond that, there are many even sober "adults" who are little more than big, goofy children. Well into their 40's and 50's, they exhibit little or no impulse control, and latch onto whatever political cause you put in front of them - particularly a cause that tells them they can have it all now (Gimme!) at the expense of others, and of course, nothing is never, ever their fault. The TeeVee never gives you a "time out" in the corner or spanks you. No discipline - a child's dream!
And that is why so many Americans are like deer in the headlights today. Someone came and took away all their toys! Someone told them, no, you can't just eat candy and ice cream all day long, without developing type-II diabetes and getting your limbs lopped off.
Whaaaaaa! They cry. I want my mini-mansion! I want my new Camaro! I want my Jet Ski! I want a happy meal! And I am going to hold my breath and turn blue until I get it!
But, of course, this is not a very good strategy. Even if Mom and Dad (the Government) wanted to give us all out toys back, they can't - they're broke. So maybe it is time we all grew up and started acting responsibly - living within our means, not borrowing so much, and perhaps taking better care of ourselves.
What am I saying? This is America.
5 comments:
2000 years ago dogs were bad ass animals. Humans started breeding the infantile ones to make dogs less violent and become great taskmasters. They contribute by being protectors, guarding the barn, herding the sheep, and being the boss of all of the animals. These dogs from, say, 1600 until 1920 were great animals. Now we have 5 generations of dogs that are fat, lazy, frightened of thunderstorms, scared of going out in the snow or rain, and that have no idea what to do with animals.
2000 years ago hums were bad ass creatures. We finally civilized most of them by 1800. Now we are over-civilizing some (Americans) and the others (Third World) who are tougher are taking over. In 1800 or even 1900 I feel that the right amount of civilization was right. Now we are going too far in first world countries. We have a drinking age of 21. We have a non-violent warrior class (the Army). And I can keep on going. The whole world is laughing at us. We cannot infantalize all of us because then we will be taken over.
The prognosis looks bad. Every badass that I know is over the age of 40. When I was young I was taught to defend myself, to compete and win, and to fight. I started moderate drinking at 15 and never had an alcohol-related incident. I took the NYC subway alone at age 9. I rode my bike to the park alone to play at age 7 with no helmet.
I joined a gang in the 9th grade for defensive purposes being of the few White kids in the high school. I became its President, the Student Council President, and the Valedictorian. I learned about defense, competition, teamwork, vigilance, mutual respect, and associations from being in that gang. HS taught me some irrelevant advanced math and science, some mildly entertaining literature, some very relevant Spanish language courses, some very relevant English usage knowledge, and some irrelevant Art and Music education.
As you see I learned more from my gang association and playing football than going to classes. Believe me, I still know all of the Algebra, Calculus, Biology, etc... but I never need it and I even have a very technical job (software engineer). BTW, I can honestly say that I did nothing that can be considered a 'crime' while associated to my gang, the Regulators.
Now we wimped down the HS students so much that even the association would be considered a crime. It looks bad and getting worse.
I never thought of that way. Interesting perspective.
See my posting, "The Culture of Belligerence"
http://livingstingy.blogspot.com/2011/02/culture-of-belligerence.html
Perhaps, like my neighbor's dog, who barks like mad at the mailman, but cowers in a thunderstorm, we as Westerners, are over-compensating for our softness by posturing in a macho manner.
It does sell a lot of penis boats..
http://livingstingy.blogspot.com/2010/09/do-you-need-or-want-penis-boat.html
Well if you sit in front of a computer reading a blog titled Living Stingy, chances are you are not a bad-ass and most likely don't know one either, but if you're in a jail cell then you probably know more bad-asses than you'd ever want. It's all about perception and entourage.
Humans, rats, dogs are all opportunistic animals (successful I might ad), once their needs are met they stop "fighting". Lazy-nes is something you have to afford and many do.
Fat, lazy dogs once thrown out on the street, quickly adopt a wolf like behavior forming packs and attacking people. Same goes for people, if you throw them in at the deep end they will adapt and survive, it's instinct. Why break a sweat when everything you need is just handed to you.
People in third-world countries have to fight for survival day by day. They hate it, they look up to western culture and want a part of it. They want to be "rich", they want to afford lazy-nes.
I have a lot of child like friends. They are all broke and getting broker every day.
My 13 year old son asked me the other day why we are so poor and cannot afford a nice new SUV like his friends parents have. What can I say to that.
On one hand I want him to think we are poor but on the other I don't We have a very nice home but because we drive 10 year old vehicles he thinks we are poor.
I guess that is another child like behaviour.
Mark's Dad told him as a kid the following, in response to the same question:
"Anyone can have a new car. All you need is a job, a W2, and the willingness to sign yourself into debt. Owning a car is not real wealth, just the appearance of wealth. Don't confuse appearances with reality."
A child thinks owning a nice car equates to wealth, when in fact it usually equates to debt and poverty.
Money in the bank, a solid balance sheet and a positive net worth are not things you can show off (or should) or things you can park in your driveway.
It takes a long time to learn this (for me, anyway).
And many "Kids" today - well into their 30's, think that the appearance of wealth is the same as real wealth.
In the town I grew up in, the richest lady in town drove the oldest car. Real wealth rarely shows off. Only in the movies and on TV do wealthy people flash their cash. Donald Trump syndrome.
Old money doesn't advertise.
But this is a good opportunity to teach your son about money. Which would he rather have, a flashy car, or money in the bank?
He probably will say the car. But then tell him about all the costs involved - the payments, the down payment, the collision insurance, the liability insurance, the property taxes, etc. and point out to him that with the flashy car, he will have no money in the bank and HAVE to go to work every day.
And then what happens if you lose your job and can't pay for the car? You lose the car and then are broke. And many people do just that, which is why so many are complaining in this economy.
Real Wealth versus Apparent Wealth is something that should be taught at an early age. I wonder if young people would be receptive to such a message.
I would rather own a 10-year-old Mercedes that is "paid-for" than a brand new Ford Focus and be making payments. Both cost about the same. Actually, the Mercedes is cheaper to own.....
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