Bad Ideas in Society
Lets face it - the laughable condition that our society is devolving to is spurred by bad ideas. Much of the stupidity that Papa Riah writes about is the direct result of a really bad idea which somehow got much further than it ever should have. It’s amazing to me that this can happen. Somewhere along the way somebody with the power to squelch the misconceived plan must have given it the approval stamp, probably more than once. How does a stupid idea gather steam and start snowballing, and why am I apparently the only one to see these things and call them out? The idea should have died in the conception stage!
Perhaps I am not the only one who notices, but rather I am the only one to say something about it. This reminds me of the story of the emperor’s new clothes. People tend to be more concerned with fitting in and being like everybody else than standing back and calling out the obvious, especially if it goes against popular opinion. This is how really stupid trends not only get started, but spread like wildfire - especially when it comes to fashion. It’s a real problem in society.
Lets take the case of women’s low-rider pants (also known as hip-huggers) as an example. This was a terrible concept that has taken over in America and has somehow found staying power for a ridiculous number of years. The only women who look good in these things are so thin as to be borderline sick with Anorexia. Any normal healthy female looks fat in them, and that’s the plain truth. This fashion trend reinforces the abominable idea that women should be starving themselves to unhealthy levels in order to be attractive.
There is another type of bad idea that fits into this category, and that is simply a bad decision. Often when you really screw up at something a friend will tell you (afterwards of course) that whatever it was you set out to do was a bad idea. Most of these incidents can be traced to a bad decision made at a critical point.
Papa Riah is an expert at risk analysis and management. That means I make good decisions in all areas of my life based on proper risk vs. reward assessment. Another way of saying this is that I am a smart gambler. This comes naturally to me, so I tend to be a little tough on people who have trouble in this area. Not managing risk properly is the core of bad decision making in your life, no doubt about it. I highly advise at least thinking about the concept for a bit, as that can only help.
Take the game show Deal or No Deal as an example. Contestants make terrible decisions on this show on a regular basis. Note that the bad decisions are always in the direction of going further, not stopping. Some of them get the idea stuck in their head that they are destined to win big and give up life-changing amounts of money as a result of this self-induced blindness. Others can simply never accept any offer that is lower than their highest offer was, and go down the tubes as a result.
I encourage you to go through life with your eyes open and not being afraid to ask questions. Quit worrying about what other people think of you, especially strangers. Drop the idea of your image entirely. Nobody is watching and nobody cares, so there is nobody to impress. Even if there were, impressing other people is not a worthwhile pursuit. Even if it were, the way to impress them is likely to be counter-intuitive. Believe me, people will actually respect you more (not less as most people suppose) for admitting when you don’t know something and wanting clarification in order to make a better decision.
Papa Riah