The power of realistic thinking

Barbara Ehrenreich, recently wrote an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times, The power of negative thinking. She pointed out the mess the combination of greed and positive thinking landed us in. She linked Oprah Winfrey, megachurch pastors and the New Age self-help industry through their mindless wishfull thinking delusions. According to Ehrenreich:

"It’s a message (positive thinking) companies relentlessly reinforced — treating their white-collar employees to manic motivational speakers and revival-like motivational events, while sending the top guys off to exotic locales to get pumped by the likes of Tony Robbins and other success gurus. Those who failed to get with the program would be subjected to personal “coaching” or shown the door."

The issues she riles against are common in South Africa as well. Mindless positive thinking abound in megachurches and businesses from small to large. Mainstream Christian churches seem to be losing ground to charismatic megachurches with the "positive" message that God wants the congregants to have it all, especially the pastors. In many cases the line between church and business has becoming thin and permeable, some business get-togethers resemble church revival meetings. A friend dragged me to a meeting of the consultants of a multi-level marketing organisation some time ago. Speaker after speaker stood up trying to outdo each other with essentially the same message: "Last year I made x amount of money; Praise the Lord!". This sickening, somewhat blasphemous, message eventually got to me and I found something urgent to do elsewhere.

One would have to see whether mindless positive thinking survives the current worldwide financial crisis and the ENRONs and Worldcoms before it. We are hearing calls from some churches for a return to soberness and a Calvinistic work ethic. Corporates may also be returning to more realistic, even negative attitudes - at least till fear subsides and greed takes over again.