Better Afraid Than Ashamed

     The more I look around (hello and welcome, by the way), the more I notice an odd and unsettling shift in how things are being sold to us, and I don't just mean products. I mean political points of view, theological beliefs, methods of consumption and parenting, pretty much everything. There was a time, I can recall, when everything was about keeping people scared enough to feel like they needed protection. Remember that, when insurance companies were everywhere, and they had more mascots than they did unhelpful customer service reps? I remember it, and I'm pretty sure I wrote about it.
     Now, though, something is going on that makes me long for the days when all I had to do was understand and accept that I was a powerless individual in a world of terror and madness, and the only thing I could do was rely on my leaders (whom I was also to fear) and corporate masters (also to be feared) for protection.
     Those were the days, but unfortunately I believe they have gone the way of the Woolly Mammoth, with significantly less hope for revival (they're still working on bringing those beasts back, by the way. Don't give up hope.) Those halcyon days have been replaced by a more shame filled culture, one where everyone wants everyone who isn't them to feel bad. About everything.
     For example, I saw a phone service commercial wherein two people tell the same autobiographical story about some fix they found themselves in, and of course only one of them had this good service. This person came out of said fix cleaner than a brand new pair of shoes. The other one, that poor, unfortunate, fool of a man, was left to face a family which no longer had any faith whatsoever in their  pathetic paternal parent.
     See what I mean? Where once, the consequences served to this simple minded fool would have been physical injury, perhaps, or loss of a job and subsequently a home, he now faces guilt and shame. What caused this shift, I wonder? Did someone realize that fear as a commodity no longer has an effect? That, to borrow a phrase, the market has been saturated, and in the search for a new way to sell pretty much anything they want, have settled on guilt and shame?
     I think it is, and while I admit it's pretty clever, it remains ultimately horrific, and I simply can't wait to tell you why, so I'm going to do it right this minute.
     Take it from someone who knows, friends and neighbors, walking around feeling ashamed and guilty about -and this next phrase is chosen very carefully, and without exaggeration- every aspect of one's being is not a good idea.  It does not lead to improvement, of one's self or life.
     It certainly won't make me switch phone service companies, or insurance companies, or buy an electric car, or go to church, or vote for the most famous actual real life vampire our country currently has, and don't act like you don't know who I'm talking about.
     There's a reason he eats pizza with a fork, and it's because he's not used to human food, because he eats literal Human Food.
     And speaking of food, (now that's a segue, right there) what happened to the days when eating unhealthy food only caused the consumer to die of horrible disease? Now it's like having a hamburger is not only supporting the cruel treatment of livestock (which....okay, yeah, it is), but I may as well be out covering the ice caps with oil and setting them ablaze.
     Which I would not do, ever. Gas is already so expensive. Also I like Polar Bears.
     Anyway, look, I know everything is terrible, okay? If you don't believe me, ask around. People will tell you, I am quite in the know when it comes to how much everything sucks. I would (and have just tried to) point out, however, that guilt and shame do not lead to peace and salvation. I would also like to point out that making me miss the days when I was supposed to be afraid all the time is something someone should feel bad about.
    Also, that guy I called a vampire before? He's a vampire. For real.
-John