The New "N" Word
Jann Burner
June 10, 2007
When I was a boy the motto of the Boy Scouts used to be, "Be Prepared". When I learned how to drive, the number one rule was to drive defensively. "Think ahead. What might happen that you don't foresee." When I learned how to sail, the number one rule was to look ahead, plan for the unforeseen, what are you going to do next and thereby avoid some very nasty surprises.
Now we seem to have entered some new zone of idiocy where being prepared for anything is considered very un-PC and often downright negative. And as we all know, being "Negative" is about as bad as one can get. It just isn't hot. I used to know a woman who actually forbade anyone in her car to wear a seatbelt because she saw it as terribly negative, if not actually courting disaster! Her motto was "Smile! Be happy."
I happen to live out in the country (That's putting it politely. Actually I live way out in the woods.) In the course of my days I try to anticipate what might be needed in the way of comfort or survival. We have a well. If the AC power goes down, we have no water. So I've taken steps to see that we have a reasonable amount of fresh water on hand. We also have no lights if the power should go out. I have taken steps and have many kerosene lamps as well as some solar lamps. And so it goes. But many people, some quite close, some even living in my home, relish telling me how negative I am for even entertaining the idea that "something" might possibly go wrong. What a downer! How negative. Don't I realize that by even "thinking" something might not function as anticipated in the future that I am surely creating negativity. Now where did showing a little forethought and being prepared suddenly become synonymous with negativity?
I am noticing this more and more in conversations and on television and on the Internet. If you tend to want to be prepared you are immediately branded "negative" (unless it has to do with money! Then you are smart!). If you tend to prepare for the unexpected then you are actively courting disaster and should probably be banned from the village! Negativity is certainly the new "N" word and the only thing worse than the "N" word is the "S" word….survivalist! Beware if you prepare for anything least you be branded a survivalist! And as we all know survivalists are right up there with UFO crazies and those loony people who believe the government is filling the sky with chemical trails!
What brought this up was the recent television program Jericho. It is (or was) a drama about a small town in Kansas trying to make do after the unspeakable, a nuclear war! The thrust of the program was how they survived and how they prepared and how they interacted. It wasn't a great show and it suffered from generally bad writing but I suspect the show was cancelled for another reason. It was cancelled because people saw the program as very negative. I mean, what a bummer! War on our own ground! No way dude! And who wants to watch a bunch of people run around acting depressed and being just so…negative! Now a good murder mystery or even a horror story is perfectly acceptable because it is so far out of the main stream that it can be viewed strictly as voyeuristic entertainment. But nuclear war in America? That is downright scary and just so negative.
Somewhere along this crazy bus line we call modern culture the idea of "Smile and be happy", has become at odds with being prepared. When I was coming up and enjoying such currently perceived negative activities as back packing ( I mean really, who would want to spend a bunch of money on specialized equipment and then go sleep in the dirt! Ha.) I was taught that one can't really be "happy" until one has done their best to be prepared for most eventualities and then, the opportunity for happiness might arise. And then, such a simple activity as sleeping in the dirt can truly be perceived as a happy experience. What we are currently viewing might be called the "Paris Hilton Syndrome". Be happy first and foremost and the hell with personal responsibility. Someone else will take care of that.
Now my question is: is this part of a design? Is there some movement afoot to keep the American Public apathetic and utterly dependant? Or is this just a side effect of a high tech culture of spoiled citizens who utterly refuse to take any personal responsibility? I would prefer to think that it is the second reason, but in the back of my mind I can hear some people in Germany in the 1930's turning to their fellow countrymen and commenting on certain things and being told…"Oh Hans, you are just so negative! This is a beautiful day! Smile. Be happy!"
Now we seem to have entered some new zone of idiocy where being prepared for anything is considered very un-PC and often downright negative. And as we all know, being "Negative" is about as bad as one can get. It just isn't hot. I used to know a woman who actually forbade anyone in her car to wear a seatbelt because she saw it as terribly negative, if not actually courting disaster! Her motto was "Smile! Be happy."
I happen to live out in the country (That's putting it politely. Actually I live way out in the woods.) In the course of my days I try to anticipate what might be needed in the way of comfort or survival. We have a well. If the AC power goes down, we have no water. So I've taken steps to see that we have a reasonable amount of fresh water on hand. We also have no lights if the power should go out. I have taken steps and have many kerosene lamps as well as some solar lamps. And so it goes. But many people, some quite close, some even living in my home, relish telling me how negative I am for even entertaining the idea that "something" might possibly go wrong. What a downer! How negative. Don't I realize that by even "thinking" something might not function as anticipated in the future that I am surely creating negativity. Now where did showing a little forethought and being prepared suddenly become synonymous with negativity?
I am noticing this more and more in conversations and on television and on the Internet. If you tend to want to be prepared you are immediately branded "negative" (unless it has to do with money! Then you are smart!). If you tend to prepare for the unexpected then you are actively courting disaster and should probably be banned from the village! Negativity is certainly the new "N" word and the only thing worse than the "N" word is the "S" word….survivalist! Beware if you prepare for anything least you be branded a survivalist! And as we all know survivalists are right up there with UFO crazies and those loony people who believe the government is filling the sky with chemical trails!
What brought this up was the recent television program Jericho. It is (or was) a drama about a small town in Kansas trying to make do after the unspeakable, a nuclear war! The thrust of the program was how they survived and how they prepared and how they interacted. It wasn't a great show and it suffered from generally bad writing but I suspect the show was cancelled for another reason. It was cancelled because people saw the program as very negative. I mean, what a bummer! War on our own ground! No way dude! And who wants to watch a bunch of people run around acting depressed and being just so…negative! Now a good murder mystery or even a horror story is perfectly acceptable because it is so far out of the main stream that it can be viewed strictly as voyeuristic entertainment. But nuclear war in America? That is downright scary and just so negative.
Somewhere along this crazy bus line we call modern culture the idea of "Smile and be happy", has become at odds with being prepared. When I was coming up and enjoying such currently perceived negative activities as back packing ( I mean really, who would want to spend a bunch of money on specialized equipment and then go sleep in the dirt! Ha.) I was taught that one can't really be "happy" until one has done their best to be prepared for most eventualities and then, the opportunity for happiness might arise. And then, such a simple activity as sleeping in the dirt can truly be perceived as a happy experience. What we are currently viewing might be called the "Paris Hilton Syndrome". Be happy first and foremost and the hell with personal responsibility. Someone else will take care of that.
Now my question is: is this part of a design? Is there some movement afoot to keep the American Public apathetic and utterly dependant? Or is this just a side effect of a high tech culture of spoiled citizens who utterly refuse to take any personal responsibility? I would prefer to think that it is the second reason, but in the back of my mind I can hear some people in Germany in the 1930's turning to their fellow countrymen and commenting on certain things and being told…"Oh Hans, you are just so negative! This is a beautiful day! Smile. Be happy!"
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