The First Post: Some Thoughts on Where We Are

So, we've reached the point where who's Dancing With the Stars next is more important than the fact that our economy is on the brink of disaster. I'm not sure if you were aware or not, but the fact is that there are an almost innumerable amount of characteristics of the global economy that could trigger a complete financial meltdown, fundamentally altering the method in which life is lived today.

This might sound absurd, crazy, ridiculous, fringe, or any other number of adjectives that could be used by an individual possessing the normalcy bias. So let's talk about this normalcy bias for a moment. You might have an idea of what it is, but I'll try to explain it in simplistic terms. Literally, it is a bias towards normalcy. In practice, it is the use of the argument that because the norm has worked thus far, it is unlikely or even impossible to change any time soon. It is the bias, typically possessed by individuals of older age, or those who have flourished in the system, that is used to argue that possible events are unlikely. You can probably find many examples of this in your day to day lives.

"Since I've never crashed my car, it's unlikely that it will ever happen." Until somebody else crashes into you. That is the problem that we face today. The economy has provided and strongly benefited many individuals in our society today, specifically the individuals with the most money, power, and influence. These individuals have received so much from the system, that it is impossible for them to believe the system will ever end. They are highly advanced, intelligent, and educated people, that cannot see the dangers that stare them in the face. It is not a character flaw, or an educational or intellectual failure; it is simply an unavoidable bias for those who are accustomed to the way things are done in the world today.

So this is where I come in. As a young person, I am much less prone to this bias. I have not yet lived alone in the system for more than a year, and thus can see the facts that dissuade the thought that, "It's just the way things are, and cannot ever change." The fact of the matter is that the world is full of possibilities, and ruling out any outcome is a foolish and irresponsible manner of action. Just imagine if our good friend, the 'ol Archduke of Austria-Hungary, had never been assassinated. WWI caused WWII, and WWII caused the Cold War, and all of the current ongoing conflicts can be traced to the first great conflicts of the World.

You see, there are so many possibilities of outcomes, that trying to predict what will happen is futile. Especially now in our interconnected and interdependent world, one decision by one person can affect billions of people. So I'll close my introduction with this: learn the facts, judge them appropriately, and form your opinion. We are all individuals, we can all learn from each other, and we will ultimately gain the most by considering every single possibility that the future holds and by adequately preparing for whatever these possibilities are.