Nightline: We're in debt (Americans) because our brain is 'chemically

[Viva_La_Revolution]

imbalanced'

:wtf: !!

We're in debt because we fulfill ourselves with spending instead of living!!

Did anybody else see this? This woman thinks prescriptions are the solution to our consumerism-run-rampant!

[blonndee]

1. once again, big pharm has all the answers to our unhappiness. n/t

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. What pissed me off the most...

they ran their little interview with her wacked out opinion, no rebutal. We're on to freezing eggs so women can give birth 40's...

AAACCKKKK!!
:mad:

[Patchuli]

5. Any woman wanting to give birth

willingly throughout her 40s deserves every stretch mark! accckkk!!!

Sorry, but it's my opinion. I don't think every woman must prove she's a woman
by having a baby. We have enough babies and trust me, your kids don't make you feel too immortal for the most part!

[blonndee]

7. What's sad and ironic

is that this is what America IS, and has been designed to be, at least since the so-called gilded age. Everything around us has to do with consumption--our identities, the way we interact with our families, strangers, and ourselves; even what we think of as our "selves" is shaped by images of which we may not even be fully aware. It has a lot to do with a visually-oriented culture, which has only been intensified and exploited by big business/corporatist culture. Obviously, these interests are only further "furthered" and intensified w/all our tech. advances recently.

Also very interesting is that "big pharm" has been in on this shit from the beginning, or at least around the same time as all this emerged. The "quack" hawkers of remedies emerged around the same time as a scientific and psychological awareness of body issues came about, resulting in a sort of manic self-regulation and the idea that solutions to any bodily discomfort or unease could be purchased.

Of course, none of this could have come about without an underlying sense of individualism...people see themselves first and foremost as individuals and not part of larger units...further exacerbating the need to consume in order to 1)differentiate by consuming goods and 2) care for the self, another differentiating practice.

It's interesting to think about all this because there seems to be no real answer as to what exactly is "the" cause of this, except for corporate, consumerist capitalism. The rest of the symptoms are so interrelated and contribute to the perpetuation of the others that the only cause I've been able to trace back so far IS this type of capitalism and its effects--namely competition and differentiation.

A really interesting and concise read on this is Stewart and Elizabeth Ewen's "Channels of Desire: Mass Images and the Shaping of American Consciousness."

[Chipper Chat]

4. She prolly has stock in Walgreen's

.

[Skittles]

12. I have to ask

when did PROLLY become a word

[Chipper Chat]

13. Don't you have any Irish friends?

OK OK - I pledge to do better.
:)

[ObaMania]

15. Been around for quite a while, Skittles..

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=prolly

Pretty widely used on the internets.

[Skittles]

18. an ":internet bastardization", lol

:thumbsup:

[Mythsaje]

3. Better living through chemistry...

Our "imbalance" is the fact that we forgot what "conspicuous consumption" meant. Even many of those who first coined the term left it behind when they became yuppies.

[Faux pas]

6. Yeah, they'd love it if we were all drugged up and barely

functional. Think how easy we'd be to manipulate then.

[Bluerthanblue]

8. we look for 'satisfaction' or

that feeling of 'contentment' in stuff.- and more stuff, and even MORE stuff. So much 'stuff' that we have to rent metal boxes the could house people, to hold our 'stuff'.
There is an emptiness in us, that isn't being filled. Many months ago, maybe even a few years ago, I heard a fellow on NPR talking about the sense of accomplishment, and satisfaction that human beings had when they had to rely on themselves for survival- Putting food by for the winter, getting in feed for the animals, wood for heat, and providing for the necessities. While life was incredibly HARD, and many people struggled, they also had tangible evidence, and reward for their labors. Now, we are so divorced from the actual physical preperation, and provision for our daily living, we can't really connect our paycheck, with the satisfaction of knowing we're doing something valuable and life sustaining.- I realize there are many exceptions to this concept, but it really struck a chord in me.
After we gave up farming, life was never the same- it was 'easier' to a great degree, but emptier, as well. Diminished somehow....???

Wish I could remember who was being interviewed. He made a lot of sense.

[orleans]

9. right. give me a pill and knock me unconscious

and i won't be buying a thing until the drugs wear off

[depakid]

10. I'm actually glad I didn't!

Thanks for the heads up, though.

It reinforces my will to avoid TV "news" shows. If for no other reason than good mental health! LOL.

[Skittles]

11. too many people have the air of entitlement

at least, that is what I see...they think they DESERVE stuff whether or not they can pay for it

[mark11727]

16. From "Silence of the Lambs"...

Hannibal Lecter: No, he covets. That's his nature. And how do we begin to covet, Clarice? Do we seek out things to covet? Make an effort to answer.

Clarice Starling: No. We just...

Hannibal Lecter: No. Precisely. We begin by coveting what we see every day. Don't you feel eyes moving over your body, Clarice? And don't your eyes move over the things you want?

[Random_Australian]

14. Or perhaps chemical balance stemming from profound consumerism?

Hmmmmmm.....

Sorry if I sound judgemental folks.

[TomClash]

17. We're in debt because the BFEE is looting the Republic's treasury

with their Paris Hilton tax cuts, the so-called "War on Terror" and the Iraq Debacle.