I’m not trying to be a wiseass here. What I’m more interested in doing is to point out the obvious: that the driving force inside humanity --- call it the spirit, soul, anima, whatever --- is in most cases, strong enough to weather strong storms, specially those that happen in these economically-challenged times.
Take for example unemployment rates.
Throughout history, from ancient to modern times, humanity has had it’s ups and downs when it comes to keeping one’s job (and sanity, I suppose).
Imagine how it must have been in Ancient Rome, when the general populace was faced with the reality that there were too many slaves who were working for free, and that these very same slaves were reducing the number of available jobs for the ordinary man on the street.
Imagine how a Roman dude who was terribly pessismistic would have thought: Quando omni flunkus moritati. (“When all else fails, play dead”) and contrast this with the thoughts of the Roman worker who refused to panic and instead did his best to keep hope alive in his heart, never mind if he totally sounded like Alfred E. Neuman: Quid? Me anxius sum? ("What? Me worry?")
So who do you think had a better chance of surviving a heart attack, eh?
Then and now, people worry about keeping their jobs. Then, as it is now, while many were able to keep theirs, many also lost their means of livelihood, even if they worried themselves to death (literally and otherwise).
Unemployment is a bitch, rising unemployment rates are the Grand Dame of heartless bitches. Wherever one is in the world, we can all be assured that someone, somewhere, somehow is making a killing out of the misery of other people.
That's because whether we are in Hong Kong, Ancient Rome, Zanzibar, Medieval England, Iran, or Japan, when the threat of possibly losing one’s job looms very close on the horizon, the common tendency is to feel that little worrying worm in the pit of our stomachs gnaw itself into major panic.
And when that happens, sometimes, all it takes is one savvy advertising agency and one politician yearning to win, to pitch many over the side, like what’s happening in Nevada right now.
Republican Sharron Angle has harnessed the good ole power of media to strike a resonating fear in the heart of many of the residents of Nevada, through a political ad.
The ad focuses on the rise of Nevada's unemployment rate from three years ago, when it was stated to have stood at 4.4% to the current claimed 14%.
This really sends my poor head spinning. I mean, okay, so much of the world's economy is in a slump. So, okay, many people all over the world have lost jobs or have been forced to take on work that involved either a drastic career change or position slide.
But shouldn't we remain hopeful, even in the face of what's happening? Like I pointed out earlier, this is not the first time that unemployment has reared its ugly head, nor is it the first time that unemployment rates have gone up.
Again. Wherever we are right now, whether we are in Hong Kong, Ancient Rome, Zanzibar, Medieval England, Iran, Japan, or even in Nevada, how about we try to get a grip on ourselves and realize that worrying really doesn’t do much for any of us?
How about, instead, making hope float inside us and believing we can ride this out?
If that sounds too kindergarten-ish, look at this way: would you rather worry yourself to death than forge on and keep on looking for opportunities with renewed hope... and stay alive?
(Just in case anyone wants to know, yeah, I've experienced losing jobs. Note that: jobs. Plural. But as you can see, here I am, I've bounced back. Have been bouncing back, again and again and again. What's that they say again, about weeds in a garden being the hardest to do away with? :D)
Welcome to an opinion piece by David Garcia.
Got something to say? Feel free to comment. :)
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