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A recent story On NPR talked about a janitor that noticed that the floor around one urinal was always cleaner than the others. He noticed that there was a chip in the porcelain in that urinal. After some investigation it turned out that men have a need to aim at things. A Dutch factory started making urinals with a fly etched in the porcelain, and they claim that the area around their urinals, are 80-85% cleaner than others.
We men are pretty scatterbrained but I never thought that such a simple tactic might be so affective at focusing our attention. I wonder in what other ways we are psychologically manipulated every day?
People all over the country are very angry this year and for good reason. The economy tanked. People lost jobs, they lost their houses, they lost their life savings. For a lot of people on the right the election of Obama meant the loss of an entire world view and philosophy of life.
The recession it turns out, was the result of deregulation, and risky financial shenanigans by banks that had grown too big to fail. A huge national debt was amassed by Bush whom everyone you knew thought was a great conservative, and the huge national debt and deficits were due to tax cuts to the rich. Reaganomics almost caused another great depression! About every belief conservatives hold dear has turned sour. What an immense disappointment!
The right wing talk shows, Fox News, and the Republican Party, all did a marvelous job of focusing the anger of the right on Obama. It didn’t matter what anyone was angry at, if people were angry, Obama became the target. Obama became the fly on the urinal.
In the case of the urinal, Janitors benefit greatly by increasing peoples focus. The Republican party which hoped to be the beneficiary of the focus on Obama, is still less popular than the Democrats because the monumental incompetence, corruption and greed of that party is now being brought to light, but the greatest beneficiary of this focus of attention may be a new party – the Tea Party, that is more popular than either of the major parties. Another spoiler party will doom Republicans to obscurity.
The demonization of Obama may fulfill a psychological need to concentrate people’s anger, and to serve as a scapegoat for all that is bad in the country, but is it good for the country? Despite the right’s demonization, Obama and the Democrats are sincerely trying to solve the countries myriad problems. By deciding to oppose any of Obama’s programs regardless of merit or need, the Republicans lost any chance to improve those bills or to solve the nation’s problems. They are shirking their responsibility and not doing their jobs, which should be to do what is right for the American people.
Our country’s economic health is determined by consumer confidence. When half of the country is obsessing over any bad news or every mistake, and ignoring good news, while refusing to believe that any good can come from anything the Democrats do, the economy cannot recover, and these doomsayers become self fulfilling prophets.
What ever happened to the power of positive thought?
What would happen if instead of concentrating on the negative, that everyone in the country concentrated on the positive? Instead of wishing that Obama, and therefore the country will fail, and actively working to insure that everything Obama and the Democrats try will fail, what would happen if we wished that the country would recover, and that therefore Obama would be successful? What would happen if Republicans actually did their job and worked to solve the countries problems instead of just obstructing what the Democrats are trying to do? What would happen if people had confidence that the economy was recovering and people started investing and buying again? Businesses would start hiring again and the economy would recover quicker.
There are many books out there that concentrate on the power of positive thought like “The Secret”. It is no big secret when you think positively good things happen. When you think negatively bad things happen. The same is true for the country. If you think the country will do well, it will!
Just imagine....
• feeling great about yourself and what you can achieve
• feeling the flush of success and achievement
• experience new freedom, dynamism and joy
• having the power to choose your own path in life
• being happier and healthier
• achieving all the things you seek in life
• attracting your perfect partner
• being your ideal weight
They really can all be yours, many of the techniques, ideas and actions outlined in any positive affirmation website are used either instinctively or deliberately by many of the most successful people today. Think like a winner and you will be a winner.
The same is true of the country. If you believe that the government is trying and succeeding in fixing the economy, it will recover much faster.
So stop concentrating on the negative, and stop peeing on the country, and it will recover much faster!