There is but one constant in everything that got us into the mess we are in and it is all that prevents us from climbing out – somewhere along the way America got mentally lazy.
Posted by Adam King on July 22, 2011
Will mental laziness prove to be our fatal flaw?
July 22, 2011 – There is but one constant in everything that got us into the mess we are in and it is all that prevents us from climbing out – somewhere along the way America got mentally lazy. We have become willing to let others to do our thinking for us, and that may be our fatal flaw.
The internet has only accelerated the decline. We accept whatever comes to the inbox as fact even though we can easily verify or disprove the information using the same technology. But we rally behind misinformation and outright lies simply because it is more convenient than making our own informed decisions.
We eagerly devour every shred of what passes for good news these days while ignoring everything going on around us. We have so thoroughly cloaked ourselves in denial that we are unwilling to accept even the possibility of economic catastrophe. Rather than take prudent precautions, we pacify ourselves with the inane utterances of “experts.”
Consider this op-ed by Paul Krugman in the New York Times: Gold is so darned expensive these days, he says, because “there’s a marketing scam in progress,” perpetrated by none other than Glen Beck. Beck, we are told, stirred up fears of hyperinflation and through his wide influence “conservative Americans were being pushed into buying gold.”
Krugman’s piece resonated with right-wing deep thinkers. “Stupid people buy gold,” says one posted comment. “The only real value gold has is for conspiracy theorists aka gold bugs,” says another, apparently missing the irony in his response to Krugman’s conspiracy theory.
Other posts underscore a profound disconnect with economic reality: “Euros have value; all currencies have value. Any value gold has is purely an illusion.” And another, accepting the possibility of a time when the “the dollar is no longer a secure store of value” dismisses gold because “it’s not particularly useful for making weapons or farming equipment.”
In the Wall Street Journal Jack Hough declares that “gold, absent neurotic fear, is a lousy investment,” then points out that gold has returned 533% since 2001. He then bolsters his argument with the extraordinary claim that “no country uses gold as money today or has plans to do so.”
There are just as many wing nuts on this side of the fence, of course. That is why it is imperative for all Americans to become well informed, to open our eyes and decide for ourselves what is right before us, and then demand that our government put politics aside and do what must be done.
As for your personal wellbeing, it wouldn’t hurt to reassess gold investments with an open and critical mind.
Stewart Lawson
Senior Staff Writer – Certified Gold Exchange
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US Gold Market
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