We’re very lucky to be alive now, in 2008, instead of say 1022.
Today, we have Oprah and Dr. Phil at our disposal. They tell us how to think, behave, diet, breed not to mention vote. If you’re too busy and pre occupied with life’s adventures, you might not even realize you’re taking advice from these people.
As if these 2 aren’t enough, we have many esteemed judges. Judge Judy or Judge Matis and all of their colleagues. They hand out judicial decisions in a matter of minutes and give us life advice in between the humor and the ridicule.
Now, if TV isn’t your thing, no need to worry. There are self help books. Go to your local book store please. Don’t take my word for it. If you have an itch on your middle finger, you can find out it’s because your mother didn’t look at you from the rear view mirror when she drove you to school on September 16 the 1952.
Better yet, you can get all sorts of self help advice from people who are completely unqualified. For example, you can read about how to raise your kids from people who’ve never had kids and have no degree in early childhood education. You can cure your weight problem by reading about calories (not moving around a bit more and eating less).
The best part is that you don’t have to think about anything any more. Just pick up a book and figure out how you’re SUPPOSED to feel about things. Your husband is cheating on you? No problem, don’t think about your feelings; just pick up a book to figure out how you feel and what you should do. You have some night mares? It’s not all the violent TV you watch, it’s because Uncle Rob looked at you the wrong way on October 26 1998.
You don’t even have to watch TV or read books to have a wealth of medical information at your disposal. Pick up a magazine. Figure out which star is too thin, call her anorexic, and read about the reasons why she isn’t healthy. Or, find out which actor is in anger management or rehab. What happened? Maybe you can identify with it.
Friends are the best source though. From self rationalization to a summary of self help books to whatever is on TV, they know bits and pieces and can figure things out. I was recently talking to a friend about a personal issue. She looked at me and said, “areh, hamech chi az darooneh adameh” HUH??? No shit Shirlock, everything is from within. What the heck is all this mumbo jumbo? Am I the only one who is lost here? Am I the only one who thinks medical or psychological issues are best dealt with behind closed doors and with doctors?
Now, imagine you’re not a standard person manufactured in a factory, and let’s face it, most of us aren’t, don’t feel left out. You can’t make sense of this BS? Well, you know, YOU are the problem. Frankly, I don’t understand why you haven’t tried to squeeze yourself into this world of knowledge. If you can’t get anything out of all this knowledge, then you must be bi polar or something.
Taking advice and learning about human behavior isn’t all bad. We need to deal with our baggage. And of course, the level of education should always increase, on a societal level. But since when did that include Shirin and Derakhshande and Dr. Phil and Angelina Jolie?
I understand that talking to friends about our ups and downs is a good thing. It is. But it seems to me, and I may be wrong here, that everyone is a psychoanalyst or a herbal doctor or something close enough to that.
These days, it seems like we are taking the advice of Ameh Ghezi and Amoo Gholi instead of professionals. Not to mention that pre packaged and standard emotional cures are being marketed for each show’s target audience!
