Segarini: Enough Already – Part 2: We Have Met the Enemy….

Portions of this column originally ran previously and have been updated.

It is everywhere. In the Government (both Federal and Local) in the corporations, the banks, on Wall Street, in medicine, food and drink, the music business, radio, television, movies, and the internet. No matter where you look, there is a Festival of Crap evident in every facet of our daily existence. We are inundated with shoddy this and tacky that, ill-advised laws, rules, and regulations, planned obsolescence and dumbed down entertainment. So why is there so much crap out there? The short answer? Because we love it.

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Segarini: Greatness

I have always been amused by self improvement books. The best of them are well intentioned, homily fueled screeds couched in common sense and written in the confident prose of an educated and caring individual who shares his or her triumph over a similar situation shared by the reader. They attempt to build confidence, offer advice, and lay out a step by step plan that, properly initiated and followed, will result in the reader becoming whatever kind of ‘better’ person they desire to be. On one hand, these books can give comfort and focus to a person, a leg up on coming to terms with their problems, and at least the hope of one day being free of whatever it is they think is holding them back. On the other hand, if the author’s blueprint for personal success doesn’t work for the reader, he or she might end up in a bell tower with a high powered rifle, a case of ammo, and a bottle of decent whiskey. Why do we put ourselves through all the self doubt and brutal self-assessment that feeds this ever growing self-help cottage industry? We all want to be great.