Friday, October 16, 2015

The Importance of Lowering Your Expectations

The Expectations Bubble

At 10 years old I believed that I was going to become a Vertitech Fighter.  If you don't know what that is, that's fine for it is only something 10 year old boys growing up in the 80's would know.  But in fact, the "Veritech Fighter" is an imaginary fighter plane from the Japanese anime series "Robotech."  It could convert from a standard fighter for long distance space battles to a humanoid like robot for close quarters combat, typically against the evil "Invid Invasion" that wished to enslave the human world.

Naturally I did not grow up to become a Veritech pilot, not only because no such thing existed, nor that there wasn't an evil alien force called the "Invid," but because of reality.  My family was poor so even if there were such a thing as a Veritech fighter we were unlikely to afford it, and I had to focus on more practical means of escaping poverty.

However, while poverty kept my life goals grounded in reality, the same cannot be said for many of my peers and members of future generations.  For while it was impossible for anybody of any generation to become a Veritech pilot, it was not necessarily impossible for them to become a

famous singer
famous celebrity
high paid athelete
President of the United States
or just plain social diva

Statistically, unlikely?
Yes.

Impossible?
No.

And so what ensued was a phenomenon that was not only insane, but increasingly so as time went on. 

Parents told their children "they could become anything" because that was nice thing to do.
Teachers echoed their parents, telling them the same, because it would be mean to crush little Jimmy's dream of becoming the next Michael Jordan.
Did you want to become a world famous singer/celebrity?  It was all possible according to the movies, MTV videos, and Madonna.
And come graduation time, before children were shipped off to college, parents would buy their adult children the hilariously optimistic "Oh The Places You Will Go" by Dr. Seuss.

This child-age propaganda did not stop there, nor in its intensity.  As time went on it wasn't merely "telling your children to aim high" and "chase their dreams" but to ensure at all expense your children's ego and self-esteem was never shattered.  And so the successive generation (Millennials) were treated to an even more potent dose of pie in the sky poppy cock that inflated their expectations.

Participation trophies.
No scores being kept.
The elimination of red markers for grading papers.
The elimination of grades.
Tutors.
Special ed teachers.
"Everybody should go to college"

and other outright lies that cowardly parents and teachers told their children/students their entire childhood lives.

One would think it would stop there once these children grew up and went on to college, having their childish dreams and expectations smashed by reality.  But the machine driving the "Expectations Bubble" was just firing up.

First media and Hollywood couldn't have young people think they couldn't chase and inevitably realize their dreams.  Especially women.  Ergo, they created even more movies where the good guy always wins, the girl gets the rich husband in the end, and everybody makes $100,000 a year while serving coffee at the "Central Perk."

Second, academia needed these now-adult children (especially women) to believe that the key to achieving their dreams was a college education.  And not just a college education, but preferably an advanced degree through college education.  23 year old girls just couldn't become $250,000/year fashion writers for Vogue in Manhattan without a Masters in Creative Writing.  And 22 year old boys just couldn't become the next Kirk Cobain without getting a degree in Music Theory.  They needed the guidance (and promise of success) from adult theoreticians posing as professors.  But don't worry, once you got your college degree you were GUARANTEED not only to get a job, but FINALLY after nearly 2 decades of schooling, live your dream.

Third, we can't forget this entire time what the fashion/movie/sex industry was telling these kids.  Women were entitled to strong, but sensitive, but not too sensitive men, who could read minds, were all millionaires (preferably billionaires) looked like Brad Pitt, voted Democrat, wanted sex, but only when the women wanted to have sex, and wanted to wait until she was ready to have children, and would MAGICALLY show up and be ready to marry when she was ready to take a brake from her "fabulous" writing career at 32 years and 7 months.  Boys were fed the lies that women liked kind, sensitive caring men, who voted Democrat, opened doors for girls, and wrote poetry, and as long as you did that you would be guaranteed to have that hot, sex-addicted nymphomaniac that you've come to expect watching increasing amounts of internet porn.  Besides, who can blame them?  According to their teachers and parents they were the greatest people to ever grace this earth.  Besides, they had college degrees and were "going green," and that ENSURED they'd have great love lives.

And finally politicians.

What politician is going to win over this voting bloc by pointing out things like:

"Debt to GDP Ratios?"
"Unfunded liabilities?"
"Government spending as a % of GDP?"
or "Labor force participation rates?"

None.

And that's why there was a lot of talk about hope and "the children are our future" without a lot of hard math and statistics based in reality.

When you threw it all together, it was the biggest lie ever told.  Previous generations had so misled their children about what they could expect and were entitled to by the future that nearly EVERYBODY in the entire country had expectations that GREATLY exceeded what reality was ever capable of giving them.  But worse, it was about every aspect of their lives:

Career
Education
Love life
Family live
Health
Finances

Nearly every one in the United States of America is so delusional that this "Expectations Bubble" dwarfs that of the Housing or Dotcom bubbles.  And like all bubbles, when they burst there will be pain.

Why Did This Happen?

Before we move onto solutions to the Expectations Bubble, we need to know how and why it formed in the first place.  And the answer is three fold and very simple.

#1  There's Profit to Be Had in Dem Der Lies!

Oprah's entire career was basically "lie to women by telling them what they want to hear, even though it will ruin their lives in the long run, and charge them the entire time."  But before you jump on Oprah, realize she was merely just one figurehead-example of the "Charge for Pretty Lies" industry.

The entire fashion industry is one big lie to women that wearing those clothes (for that year) will make them not necessarily sought after by men, but envied by other women.  Make up is the same thing, but it is to make you look "younger and better."  But even these industries have a morsel of honesty in them in that fashion and make-up can make you look better.  Such a thing cannot be said, however, of the vanity industries of "women's empowerment" books, feminist studies in college, and (my coined phrase) "roundhouse-kicking chick cop show" media.

You see women can't be stay at home moms and supporting wives.  There's no money in that.  Corporate America needs women to have their own salaries and outsource their children so:

1.  They can make billions in child outsourcing prisons daycare center profits
2.  They can make billions on fashion sales for vain products like purses and "hand bags"
3.  They can make billions on second and third cars
4.  They can make billions on the CAR LOANS to pay for those second and third cars
5.  They can make TRILLIONS on selling you more house than you need
and
6.  They can make TRILLIONS on selling women worthless liberal arts degrees.

So you see we need to mold women's expectations into "having it all" even though not one woman in the history of the world has ever pulled that off successfully.

But before we mock women, men are just as easily duped and to blame.

It may not be a Prada purse he buys, but he'll blow 10 times that amount on a fancy car.
It may not be a "Masters in Gender Studies," but he will blow $50,000 on a "Creative Writing Degree."
It may not be a "$4,000 Italian couch," but it is a $4,000 bet on a DraftKing's "sportsball" event.

And just as women blindly sopped up the lies told to them by all these corporations that their lives would be great if they had these THINGS, men equally naively thought they'd be fat, married, employed and happy if they did the same.  In the end, all most Americans really end up doing is LITERALLY mortgaging their lives away in the form of student loans, car loans, and McMansion mortgages to pay corporations and universities till their dead.

#2.  There's Votes to Be Had in Dem Der Lies!

Just like corporations, universities, and non-profits will lie to get you to part with your money, politicians will lie so they can get your vote.  The consequences, however, are not immediate as you are unlikely to directly pay for what you vote for.  Remember, it's only those eeeevil rich people and white guys that pay.

Of course ripping on corporations, males, whites, or people who just plain have more than you is also ripping on employers, innovators, spenders, and investors.  Kind of the whole engine of economic growth for the country.  So when they're taxed...and leave...or just don't invest...or just work less...or innovate less...or retire...there's not as much economic growth to go around.  Oh...and yeah.  Less jobs too.

So that "great career" you were promised by those politicians if you did what your parents told you to do and "just go to college" and everything will work out fine?

Yeah, how's that working for you now?  Oh, and by the way, how are those student loans you used to pay those leftist professors $300/credit who told you to vote Democrat all the time?  They afford those professors a nice house near campus?  No no, I know.  "You're really smart and educated" and I'm "just a big jerk who doesn't understand economics."

3.  You Parents (and Friends) are Cowards

You parents and friends have likely failed you because they dare didn't hurt your feelings by telling you the truth.  This is cowardice on their part because whatever temporary measure of ire you may have sent there way for telling you a harsh truth was enough to deter them to idly stand by and watch you go down a path that would ruin your life.

Your son or daughter is going to go to a private liberal art college and major in Social Justice Studies, ending up with $125,000 in debt?

No, no, don't stop them.  You're not a real dad.  You're a spineless one, soon joining the eunuch trope.  Tell them "follow your heart and the money will follow" as you condemn them to a life of poverty.

Your friend just got engaged to an insufferable, spoiled trust fund baby who is majoring in Women's Studies?

No, no.  Don't stop him.  You're not a real friend.  You're a spineless one who has no problem condemning your friend to a life of misery, divorce, and child support payments.

Whether it is real cowardice, laziness in parenting, or an inappropriate amount of "well they're their own adults and I can't stop them" non-interventionism, the result is the same.

"Everybody's a winner!"
"Everybody is happy!"
"You're all going to have wonderful and great futures!"
"Everything is awesome!"

Again, when you combine these three things, they are the ingredients for a perfect storm.  Nobody has any financial incentive to tell you the truth.  Nobody has a political reason to burst your delusional expectations of reality.  And even those closest to you have been so spoiled and made soft by decades of decadence lack the spine to tell you otherwise.   With nothing to stop them, multi-billion dollar corporations, multi-billion dollar universities, and multi-TRILLION dollar governments will take advantage of your naivety, inflating your ego and expectations from life, just as long as you enslave yourself to them forever.

What are the Costs?

The costs are what you'd likely expect from the world's largest bubble - the world's largest price.  I cannot think of at any point in time, bar maybe the mass starvations caused by communism and the two world wars that would come close to what the United States, and to a larger extent, western civilization will pay for their delusions.  However, regardless of the price it will be paid in two ways.  Mental and financial.

Mentally we are already paying this price.  For those of you who got through high school, graduated from college, did what you were told, and went into debt doing so, you are already suffering for the lies, deceit and delusion that was cast upon you.  Like many 20 somethings you are wondering what you did wrong?  Why isn't life going the way you were told it would go?  Where is your job?  Where is your mentally stimulating career?  Where are the droves of women/men that you were to date?

And this confusion isn't something simple like "why isn't my car starting?"

This is a life crushing experience as for the past ENTIRETY of your life you have been lied to, and thus PROGRAMMED to think a certain way.  It's not like you can just "YouTube" "how to clean a fuel injector" and be done with this this afternoon.  It is the most rudest of awakenings in that your entire world view is being shattered and along with it your entire mental programming and life philosophy.  You need to rethink everything, AS WELL AS ADMIT YOUR ENTIRE LIFE HAS BEEN WASTED UP TO THIS POINT!  All that schooling.  All that education.  All that political indoctrination.  All that BS about women liking "caring men" were not only lies, but wastes of life, time and money.  It is the closest thing to insanity healthy minds will ever endure, and some even crack, going insane themselves, giving some explanation to the recent spat of millennial mass murderers we've seen.

If you manage to get through it you will naturally be angry.  You will not be happy.  You will want revenge.  But there is nobody to get revenge on, because you very well can't take on a corporation, nor the US government, nor the university that just ass-raped you for $50,000 in tuition.  It is here you will either double down on your delusional life (like a women's study major getting her "doctorate" and blaming anything on "white men"), or you will admit you DID make these decisions, even if you were misled, and you believed them.

And it is here yet another life-determining decision will be made.  Do you pick yourself up and do what you can with only 67% of your life left, and nearly none of your youth remaining?  Or do you give up and sink into depression?  Many-a-construction workers committed suicide when they went bankrupt when a housing bubble THEY DIDN'T CONTROL burst.  But some stuck it out and got back their wealth they lost in 7 years.  It will be the true test of a man and woman's mettle to see which of these options they choose.

Regardless, this is the mental price people will pay for the Expectations Bubble.  Wasted lives, wasted youth, some will commit suicide, others will pursue the delusion blaming bogey men, and others will limp on in life.  But regardless of where they end up, the pure psychological torment of realizing you've been lied to your entire life, and that this has cost you your youth, AND how to control that rage to salvage what remains is the mental price two generations, maybe three will pay for the lies, deceit and cowardice of previous generations.

The financial price is incalculable.  We could discuss economic estimates of "unfunded liabilities" which are around $100 trillion in promises we can't keep.  We could discuss the national debt, 65% of which was used to buy votes which if interest rates nudge even slightly up, the US is insolvent.  We could be theoretical and ask "what could have been" had we adhered to those nasty, dirty, disgusting WASPy principles of the WWII generation.  But in the end it is moot.

With now about 80% of the population wasting 1/3rd of their lives getting educated, and nearly 75% of them getting educated in worthless subjects, NOT TO MENTION crippling their financial futures in debt, the entire economic system just plain doesn't have the human productive capacity, ability, nor desire to

1.  Honor all our debts
2.  Pay for everything else

The herculean economic challenges that face this nation are insurmountable to the deluded, incompetent, incapable, and demoralized population we have today.  One can fully expect default (if we lose world reserve currency status), and a long slow decline as the Romans experienced in the 4th and 5th centuries AD.

What Can Be Done?

Just like the Dotcom Bubble, just like the Housing Bubble, and just like the Retirement Bubble, people are so brainwashed and wedded to the bubble, it's nearly impossible to wake them up and effectively deflate it.  You now have nearly 90% of the population that is NON-WWII, meaning they lack the hardships, sacrifices, and other real world experiences in life to harden them to the point they prefer harsh truths over reality.  You have Baby Boomers, Gen X'ers, Millennials and whatever god-forsaken generation is coming after that, and NONE OF THEM seem to have an inkling of desire to turn off The Kardashians and start reading The Wall Street Journal.

Additionally, all major institutions in the country are too vested in the system as it currently is.  The democrats will never forfeit the promises of "unicorns, free health care, free education, you can do anything and if you didn't it's whitey's fault" type strategy.  Corporations are too invested in men and women thinking delusionally about themselves, and thus being entitled to all their material goods.  Universities and colleges need to also keep up the lie you need college to achieve your dream for what else would the parasitic scum of society posing as professors do for a living?  And the media has too much at stake for they are the ones who sell you the lies as to why your life isn't going the way you want it, or at least produce the mind-numbing drugs of sitcoms and Grammy awards so you never question it to begin with.

But all these major obstacles aside, there is at least a THEORETICAL way to undo all the damage that has been/will be done and maybe, put the country back on the path towards greatness and reality.  And it starts with that.  Reality.  Specifically, The Reality Principle.

The Reality Principle is not a theory or concept or an idea.  It's reality.  And it basically states that your decisions become more and more effective the more and more you base those decisions in reality.

If you work out, eat right, put yourself together, get implants, and grow your hair out long you will abide by the REALITY that men like girls with long hair, big boobs, tight asses, and a pretty face and are practically guaranteed to succeed with men.

If you instead lie to yourself and claim beauty is a social construct as you wharf down your 4th cheese burger, cut your hair short, wear military boots, and pierce your nose on your way to the latest "fat acceptance" meeting, then you will FAIL with men.

But the CRUX of The Reality Principle is not the simple common sense that it implies.  It is pursuing The Reality Principle in spite of our wishes, desires, biases, predispositions, wants and preferences.

For example it's very easy for me to acknowledge women want an in shape guy, with big muscles, who makes a lot of money, is charming, talented and charismatic.

It's another thing for me to run 6 miles, lift weights the next day, pursue a degree in engineering, work 60 hours a week to make the money, while picking up dance classes and practicing Cary Grant lines to meet those standards (which I have by the way ;).

Ergo it's not the concept of basing decisions in reality as much as it accepting the criticism and responsibilities it forces on us.

Do you want to have a job after college?  Tough luck, you have to study hard disciplines in STEM, engineering, and math.

Do you want to have that hot nymphomanic babe you see on the internet?  Tough luck, hit the gym, lift weights, get rid of the carbs, and enjoy the suck.

Do you want to be a social justice warrior that helps the poor and are too lazy to get a real education?  Tough luck, you will be poor, nobody will really respect you, and nobody will take you seriously.

While this "responsibility-taking" aspect of The Reality Principle implies a third impossible hurdle to bursting and recovering from The Expectations Bubble, it does something that all the lies, government checks, and warm fuzzies can't do, and that is provide real and genuine hope, a real, tangible and possible solution to most people's problems.  For while the sweet lies do satiate most of the sheeple out there, most sheeple do know, deep down inside this is not how they want their lives to be going.  They are not satisfied with their lives.  They are not happy and they are not hopeful about the future.  Additionally, they inevitably tire of a life where the lies and promises they were told are never realized. 

How long are blacks going to believe the Democrat lies?  Another 60 years?
How long are women going to believe the 60's feminist lies?  Another 60 years?

Inevitably, after a couple generations of no success, no progress, and above all else, no happiness, they WILL start to question the lies they've been told (which in part explains my disproportionately high black male readership, as well as loyal contingent of women who want to be traditional housewives). 

In other words, lies and deceit do not work in the long run no matter how good they feel.  And if we are in a very Trump like way, direct, unapologetic and blunt about it, being HONEST and pointing to REALITY at least gives everybody a realistic and understandable road map to success.  It is only those who are truly delusional or so vested in their ideology that they will want to continue to live the lies for that is all they have ever known in their lives. 

Ergo, to reach this society-wide level of "epiphany" requires one simple thing.  A sustained adherence to and broadcasting of The Reality Principle by various independent media outlets, philosophers, bloggers, podcasters, teachers, and above all else, PARENTS.  Again, what we offer is not as sweet sounding as "the glass ceiling" or "you can have it all" or "nobody's too good for my little princess," but it is based in reality.  In theory, slowly but surely, people will realize pursuing becoming the next Miley Ray Cyrus only to be unemployed and singing karaoke, is not as good as aiming to be an electrician and actually becoming an electrician.  Or aiming to be an elite investment banker at Goldman Sachs only to make it into a 4th tier commercial bank, is not as good as aiming to be a cop and actually becoming a cop.  It is simply telling our fellow loved one or even our fellow man that they need to lower their expectations inline with reality, not because we wish to rain on their parade, but because we wish to save their lives and spare their youth from the destructive forces of delusion.

And if that is too hard a sell to the American public.  So be it.  They will get what they deserve.
_____________________________________________
http://aaron-clarey.podomatic.com/
http://www.assholeconsulting.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/AaronClarey
https://twitter.com/aaron_clarey
My Books
Amazon Affiliate

11 comments:

  1. Excellent article, really really good.

    There was one flaw in it though...... veritech fighters are from the anime Macross, Robotech is actually an American IP that just uses footage from Macross and a couple of other anime.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The thing is, when realizing that life is going to suck, that our dreams will not be met, and that we will continue to live just to prop up a society or other groups of people that don't give a dam about us (and even get their jollies at our misery), well, it kills the desire to do anything. Why work hard to get nothing?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Here is how the Education Scam works:

    A moderately bright kid can surf through high school with relatively little effort. They hit university and the game changes: assignments, mid terms, and compared to what they knew from school - crushing deadlines and pressure. Most reputable institutions try to weed out the flakes and cop-outs in the first semester or two. At home, parents are unsympathetic - they live with the pressure and deadlines every day.

    But over at Mickey Mouse U - life is a little more laid back. Beardo hippy profs will sing their siren songs in your kid's ear: "You've got talent, kid! Why - if you applied yourself, yes - yes you COULD make a career of art/dancing/philosophy/tie-dying/basket weaving..." "Captain Capitalism? Your old man...? Pbbfbfbfffft! What do those shit heads know about anything? They're corporate shills, consumer whores, and slaves to The Machine...they want to see you knock yourself out in gruelling courses because that is what THEY did..." Jesus, these guys are slick - I've seen them work. The older ones are the worst.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think the pendulum may be swinging the other way..from my own empirical observations, many millennials are rejecting materialism and 90's era leftist indoctrination. And every generation has its fuckups

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is a great post and something I needed to hear, and should be publicised across the web.

    ReplyDelete
  6. great post!!
    as a friend of ours said ,after the fire department lowered standards to have more female fire fighters, 'what's is wrong with objecting to firemen who are too weak to carry my husband, unconscious, from a burning building?'.

    we may be equal in the eyes of God as far as His love for us, but we are in no way the same!!

    how anyone with eyes cannot see this simple truth is beyond me.

    i have seen a couple of cop shows in which scrawny female detectives throw huge muscly men up against walls. this is never going to happen. even a little scrawny man could easily take down most females.

    for those wishing for higher leqarning, take a look at 'coursera' and 'udacity' on the internet.
    for those who want refresher classes look at 'khan academy'.
    professors from some of the top flight universities in all the world give courses that are free for the push of a few buttons.

    great resources.

    also, a last word.

    as long as you are content, why are so many professions looked down upon?
    young fellow here just graduated from welding school. he has his pick of jobs and was snapped up by a company before he even graduated.
    he loves it.

    best case scenario, attain proficiency in a trade and then take college courses if you want. you will certainly be able to afford them on what an in demand craftsman makes!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mark Matis10:29 AM

    Why would you recommend that they "turn off The Kardashians and start reading The Wall Street Journal"??? That rag is nothing more than the Rove Republican version of the Gay Lady.
    And except for the cronies who get to slop at the government trough when THEY are in charge, they are nothing more than the other end of the same steaming turds as the Democrats behind the Kardashians.

    Panem et circenses." Nothing more.

    ReplyDelete
  8. That's why God created alcohol, so that people with failed dreams and no hope can deal with the disappointment and boredom of life.

    ReplyDelete
  9. sth_txs1:05 PM

    Here is an interesting graph posted from the Federal Reserve.

    http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2015/10/net-worth-by-age.html

    One can only imagine how much higher it would be for all ages if it were not for oppressive taxation, regulation, and inflation. Not too mention the stupidity of the voters both conservatard and libtard.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous2:21 PM

    Great post. Should be widely read.

    You didn't even forget the kung-fu fighting female action heroes, who can go one on one with strong men! And win! Bam! Take that, tough guy! Yeah right. I wonder how many girls got hurt or killed from that illusion. It really is poisonous, even deadly.

    Then there's "wait til later, you can always have children".

    Then there's "You can start out casual, get to like him, and he won't mind a bit if you change the original deal ("Let's date") to "let's marry". He just loves when people change a deal later. It's a switch from the original understanding, but he won't mind a bit. Men don't attach much importance to contracts, or original terms, or original agreements. Very pliable, casual, people, these men. They don't even remember what they originally signed on for. They live for the moment. Of course your charm has won him over. That's what happened in 19th century novels, so it must be true.

    Actually, in Jane Austen, a decidedly EIGHTEENTH century writer, men came to respect women who held out and knew their minds. The easy ones ended up like Lydia Bennet.

    Great post.

    ReplyDelete
  11. No one of consequence6:59 AM

    Excellent post. Hard, but excellent. "You can do anything you set your mind to" is one of the most vicious, cruel, and destructive lies that parents tell their children.

    ReplyDelete