Mickey Z

Cool Observer

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Self-help in the land of denial

Guru-mania has today reached epidemic proportions. If you don’t believe me, check out the “self-help” section in any bookstore. How privileged are we? How self-centered is the American book reader? The world’s 587 billionaires are worth $1.9 trillion—a total higher than the gross domestic product of the 170 poorest countries combined—yet our bookshelves are creaking under the weight of innumerable books exhorting us to dwell in denial: if we all simply stayed positive, everything would be fine.

To read the full article, click here.

+++

Christopher Hitchens sez: “Beware the irrational, however seductive. Shun the ‘transcendent’ and all who invite you to subordinate or annihilate yourself. Distrust compassion; prefer dignity for yourself and others. Don’t be afraid to be thought arrogant and selfish. Picture all experts as if they were mammals. Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence. Suspect your own motives and all excuses. Do not live for others any more than you would expect others to live for you.”

Charles Bukowski sez: “For those who believe in God, most of the big questions are answered. But for those of us who can’t readily accept the God formula, the big answers don’t remain stone-written. We adjust to new conditions and discoveries. We are pliable. Love need not be a command or faith or dictum. I am my own God. We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.”