The real problem with America is “the 5 second rule”
If you’re not familiar, the “5 second rule” is the idea that food is still “good” after you drop it in the muck if you pick it up faster than in 5 seconds time. When I was a kid and a family member called the “5 second rule!!”, we all chuckled at the joke, and forgave him or her for being unrepentantly gross. It was akin to saying, “The dog did it,” after a particularly blatant flatulence.
Even as an elementary school child, I understood this was just a joke. It was funny, because it was such a nonsense way to excuse bad behavior. It wasn’t until Facebook, and it’s effervescent comments section, that I realized just how many people actually thought this was a real thing. I don’t mean trolls who enjoy torturing people with a dry bit of nonsense and blank stare. But those legitimately surprised by this simple fact.
In other words…I became aware of just how painfully uneducated so much of the country has become on the very basics.
What triggered this train of thought was an article by Jessica Wildfire. It discussed the Law of Attraction — manifested in books like The Secret and The Power of Positive Thinking. In the story, she blames this mindset for the current problems in America. And while I find her points valid, I also find this more to be a symptom versus a cause.
For those unfamiliar, The Secret claims that you can bring any desire to fruition if you just believe hard enough it will happen. I recall a colleague once enthusiastically lending me a tape about The Secret. It said, quite literally, that the way to riches is simply to (paraphrased), “broadcast your desire to the Universe, and then sit back and wait for the good things to happen.” Similarly, The Power of Positive Thinking tells you that success is only a belief-in-yourself away.
The ideas purveyed by The Power of Positive Thinking do have root in psychology. Being that the first step to success is being able to envision the success you want to obtain. The second step is to believe you can actually attain it (and are actually entitled to the success.)
The third step is, of course, a crap-ton of hard work.
Obviously, the power of positive thinking cannot overcome the laws of physics, or replace actually working towards a goal, just like “the 5 second rule” doesn’t overcome the reality of bacteria. So why is the Law of Attraction (and apparently the 5 second rule) so prevalent in American culture?
I see two reasons.
One — legitimately not understanding the reality of it. If you don’t understand physics or science, if you’ve never seen success or how it is obtained, then these ideas make as much sense as anything. Ignorance is a blameless disease — an illness the victim played no part in succumbing to. Luckily, it’s very easily cured…should we, as a society, decide to actually cure it.
The second one is more insidious. James Randy, the recently deceased magician who spent his life debunking charlatans and con artists, once said (paraphrased), “People don’t believe the truth. People believe what makes them feel safe and comfortable. This is why people are so susceptible to the con.” In other words, willful ignorance.
Willful ignorance is the choice to remain uninformed on a subject, or to simply believe otherwise when the facts are forced upon you. Willful ignorance is why we have climate change deniers, flat-earthers, and — naturally — Trump.
