Hustling
fear and insecurity
Modern marketing hype is turning us into a society of
frightened rabbits. A steady stream of
TV commercials, advertising messages and stories in the media continuously assault
Americans with dire warnings, day in and day out. Unfortunately, fear and panic sell and good
news does not.
So, we get mostly bad news. Even
the news programs themselves hype and dramatize the negative, sometimes
bordering on outright misrepresentation, in an effort to induce people to tune
in for more. The litany of dangers, real
and imagined, is endless.
The
media assault
Consider the following examples of the types of information
the media routinely dishes up to get our attention:
·
War, terrorism and social strife have become every day fare in our lives.
·
Washing our hands with soap and water and wiping them on a towel is no longer
adequate. We’re told that we should use
wipes with the proper amount of disinfectant in order to avoid germs. Supermarkets now have disinfectant wipes
available in dispensers so customers can cleanse the handles of shopping carts
before entering the store.
·
The drug companies have mounted a major marketing barrage to convince the
public that we have, or are at risk of getting, just about every affliction or
disorder known to humanity: high blood pressure, acid reflux disease, erectile
dysfunction, diabetes, urinary tract problems, AAHD, Attention Deficit
Disorder, hypertension, arthritis, anxiety, obesity, Irritable Bowel Syndrome,
Restless Leg Syndrome, and a host of other “syndromes,” diseases and ailments
most of us never heard of, or knew existed until we were assaulted by the flood
of commercials that are beamed at us over the airwaves every day.
·
Out of control spread of diseases will wipe out most of the world’s population:
AIDS, bird flu, West Nile virus, and a host of other runaway infections will
eventually kill us all.
·
Non-stop media coverage of assaults, murder, kidnapping, rape
and child molestation is making people increasingly fearful.
·
Round the clock coverage of natural disasters, from hurricanes in Florida and
the gulf coast to tornadoes in the mid-west and earthquakes around the world.
Tsunamis in Asia, volcanoes and floods and uncontrolled forest fires, further
heighten our insecurities, making famine, starvation and massive loss of life
seem commonplace occurrences.
·
Genetic engineering of animals and our food supply will eventually lead to
unimagined consequences and result in disaster.
·
Uncontrolled illegal immigration is threatening our culture and burdening
social services beyond capacity. Our
educational and health care systems are unable to cope with the demands that
are being made on them.
·
Smokers are poisoning the very air we breathe.
If it isn’t prevented, we will all die of lung cancer.
·
The oil and coal industries generate massive amounts of pollutants, enough to
poison the atmosphere beyond repair, and nuclear power will kill untold masses
of people. We have to put them all out
of business or they will eventually kill us all.
·
Global Warming is about to destroy civilization. The polar cap is melting. Oceans will rise and flood the world’s
coastal cities.
·
Ongoing population expansion will eventually result in mass starvation. With 6.5 billion people on the earth, a
number that is growing exponentially, we will soon reach the point of no
return, where there will no longer be sufficient resources to sustain us all.
·
Our profligate ways are destroying animal species at an unprecedented rate and
upsetting the balance of nature.
·
AIDS, the potential of an avian flu pandemic and other diseases too numerous to
mention are springing up everywhere and will eventually kill millions of
people.
·
Economic disaster is just around the corner.
Stock market collapse and a dramatic drop in the housing market will
cause massive unemployment and eventually destroy our economy.
Where
does it stop?
Gloom and doom engulf us.
The litany of negative messages is endless. Where does it stop? Should we all just crawl into a hole and
hide.
However, in spite of the fact that the overreaching and
negative coverage of events often makes it seem like we are drowning in a sea
of disaster, I don’t think so. Most
Americans still appear to function well, work hard, raise families and believe
they can continue to get ahead if they play by the rules. Their belief is clearly demonstrated by the
overwhelming number of immigrants who continue to come here seeking the freedom
and opportunity to do just that.
But, that’s just my opinion.