BRYCE ON LIFE
– Where everything is the opposite of what you are used to.
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As a kid, I had an impressive collection of comic books, but as you grow older mothers have a tendency to clean out closets and dispose of such debris. Although I was able to save my baseball cards, my comic book collection was sacrificed to the garbage man. It was a pity too as my collection would probably be worth a small fortune today, but such is life. As a youngster, I was more of a fan of DC Comics as opposed to Marvel, but they were all enjoyable in their own way. I tended to gravitate to Superman along with the various manifestations, e.g., Action Comics, Superboy, Jimmy Olsen, Justice League of America, etc.
I was a big fan probably because I knew “The Man of Steel” was the toughest hombre on the block to defeat, plus I was addicted to the “Adventures of Superman” TV show starring George Reeves. The one story line I found amusing was the “Bizarro” character which represented a grotesque mirror-image opposite of Superman, thereby becoming his antagonist. Everything “Bizarro” did was the opposite of what we had come to expect from our hero. For example, “bad” meant “good” and the value system was predictably the opposite of Superman’s.
More and more frequently, I suspect we have all entered the Bizarro World where everything is the opposite of what we were taught. For example, we glorify celebrities and pay them an obnoxious amount of money for frivolous entertainment as opposed to doing anything of substance. Somehow this seems backwards to me, where a fool earns more money and adulation as opposed to a king. There are plenty of other examples:
* People are more concerned with being politically correct as opposed to getting a job done. Heck, we can even be reprimanded and sued for an improper word, look, or our general deportment.
* Workers no longer feel they are leading worthy and meaningful lives. Consequently they do not maintain loyalties and drift from one meaningless job to another. Loyalty is no longer earned, it is purchased.
* People are applauded and congratulated for cheating the system, not adhering to it. We no longer consider such things as unemployment as a safety net, but as an addictive entitlement instead.
* People seem to prefer dependence on entitlements as opposed to independence by earning their way through life. Under this scenario, those who work hard are chided as chumps, while others wallow in self-pity providing no value to society other than being a burden.
* Instead of government being a servant of the people, people are willfully enslaved to their government.
* Instead of thinking for ourselves and challenging facts, people prefer to act like sheep and let others do the thinking for them, particularly the government and media.
* Duty, honor, patriotism, citizenship, compassion, respect, and dignity are considered antiquated concepts from a bygone era.
* Common sense is no longer common. People are no longer interested in doing what is right, only that which is expeditious.
Some people will undoubtedly thrive in Bizarro World, but the other half will certainly perish. I’m not sure when we entered the Bizarro World, nor do I remember how Superman handled the situation. Maybe the only way to substantiate it is to view Earth from space; if it has cubed as opposed to remaining round, then you know we’re in trouble.
First published: August 1, 2012
Keep the Faith!
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Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 40 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at [email protected]
For Tim’s columns, see: timbryce.com
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