Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Don't Worry Be Happy

Barbara Ehrenreich's a political activist and a terrific journalist with big time chops.  You may have read "Nickel and Dimed" or "Bait and Switch".  She appeared on "The Daily Show" to push her new book, Bright-sided:  How the Relentless promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America.

I like this interview.  I like that she's grumpy and not afraid to say so and the hell with all the "Be Positive" crap that we're all supposed to embrace.  I mean, every once in a while, I just wanna kvetch.   If you want more, go here.

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6 comments:

Pop and Ice said...

Love Barbara Ehrenreich! Don't buy into the delusion!

I tend to be a rather upbeat kind of person (although I look quiet and serious), but I don't believe in the *cheer up, everything will be ok* mantra either. I'm just naturally a contented sort of person. However, schedule me for some dental work or strike down my kids with nasty illnesses and my not-so-pretty side shows. And I don't care.

Who wants to be nice all the time?

Ruth said...

I'm someone who read parts of the book The Secret and I agree - I was totally turned off that much of the message was about getting more - money, stuff, a vacation, whatever.

More than being "happy" I try to accept what is. If I am jealous, just accept: I am jealousy right now. Not resisting really takes some of the stress away, and I think the negative passes more quickly.

I went to Barbara's blog, and I remember reading Marcus Buckingham's piece in Huffington Post about the downturn in women's happiness. In a day when we have more than women have had in history, why are we getting unhappier?

Wish we could sit and chat over coffee . . .

Susan said...

Being a pragmatic realist myself, I loved this interview! She gets right to the heart of things, doesn't she? I hate it when well-meaning people try to pump you up with pretty balloons. I would much rather face reality and hear the truth. I think I could be best friends with her!

Tanna said...

Well said. Pragmatism wins every time in my book. Not that I don't believe we can either see the glass as half-full or half-empty, let's just not ignore the fact that it is half... period.

California Girl said...

Ladies, your comments are in tune with the message which is not about being dour & sad but really about acknowledgement of yur true feelings.

My therapist, a practicing Buddhist, is teaching me to face my feelings. He believes that is the only way you can let them go. We do this in his office and it's amazing how it lifts the weight once the emotion has been dealt with.

ArtSparker said...

Pet Peeve: Walking down the street and being commanded to smile by some guy I don't know. Maybe it's supposed to be some sort of (domineering) flirtation?

Christina

Christina
by Cole Scott