Reactionary

On Wednesday, I met up with some friends in Old City for drinks. Of course the topic turned to my househunting. Listen, I love my friends. They’re great people. But at one point there some things were said that have bothered me since. They’ve left me wondering if indeed I’m the only one who reads the news and if there’s something wrong with me that I do. I’ve seen shadows of the discussion over the news the past few days. 

• Why the trouble in the credit market is important… no matter how optimistic you are. Getting money right now could become a huge problem and I’m precisely the kind of person who could really be hurt by this. Don’t tell me not to worry! There is plenty to worry about. If I can’t get a loan, I can’t buy and if I can’t buy I’ll need to keep renting and if I need to keep renting, I can’t stay here because if rent goes up any more (which it WILL), it will destroy my margin and make me unable to save more for the greater down payment/ closing cost fortune I’ll need to amass. Get it?! No? Stop watching reality TV, it makes you stupid.
• On the emerging new reality and why car-happy America is over. It’s days are numbered and even now mainstream news media are becoming crammed full of articles of self-flagellation for having believed the hype. After reading even one article like this and some of its comments, I find it simply incredible that someone would seriously suggest to me to buy a car whilst living in the midst of one of the United States’ biggest cities. Unfathomable. And what bothers me most is I’m friends with this person. I think I was struck nearly speechless. If I had said more, I would have killed the friendship. It really is mind-boggling. I think she drives to work every day… a 3-mile commute through beautiful neighborhoods. That wounds my soul. It wounds my soul.
• I watch most of my TV at the gym. There are three reasons why it’s a good plan: it gives me added incentive to go to the gym, TV makes you stupid, and it’s too expensive for me to pay the outrageous prices for cable. I don’t lecture you. Don’t you dare lecture me. You’re married. You split costs and you can afford more. I can’t. And I believe in intelligence and ideas, not American consumerism. I believe in do unto others so I held my tongue and kept to myself my diatribes of why modern American life is such poor quality. I said nothing even while being hammered on two sides. I was speechless that ideas like these could be held against me at this time in American history when finally, FINALLY some sense is starting to seep through the American psyche that we’ve been living too wrong for too long.

I love my friends. Really and that’s why I didn’t say what I could have. But it makes me wonder how come I’m the only one on earth who understands these things. Where are all those people who post sensible things on blogs? I know I’m right. I should worry about the mortgage mess meddling with my plans and I can’t educate myself enough or work enough to get the deal I need. Cars for people in large cities are more hassle than necessity, let alone a social sin and indulgence that will cost us all more in the end. TV in excess makes you stupid.

This is what I constantly have to deal with. No wonder I’ve been eating a lot of chocolate lately.

Posted on July 11th, 2008 under News •  Print •  Email • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback