Wimps Rule

From the Time's James Poniewozik:

"To watch CNBC today is to enter an alternative universe, where élites are populists, Wall Street is Main Street and bank executives are the oppressed."

Full text of the excellent editorial is here:

CNBC Under Fire

I have no symapthy for stock-speculators that suddenly can't speculate as recklessly as they did just 18 months ago. The aorta of our economy isn't meant to be manipulated like a penny-exchange.

While I disagree with many elements of the our latest federal budget, I also laugh at "pundits" who for 2 years denied the looming financial crisis and now choose to blame a 45-day old administration for the inevitable collapse.

We're wimps.

Nobody has the guts to admit they were wrong; and not only is punditry a shallow game of "blame the other half of the country that doesn't think like I do", these pundits also pretend they are victimized for being held accountable for being proven wrong.

Pundits take all the credit when they are proven right, and blame everyone else when they are wrong, and they receive massive attention and ratings for doing so. They can't lose, because they are too wimpy to lose; they'd rather whine than lose; they'd rather blame than solve; they'd rather scream than learn.

To put it into personal perspective: My 401K is a mess. Do I think Barack Obama is the reason why - or do I think a massive feeding frenzy of bad credit, fake accounting and manic greed is to blame?

Is it possible that scapegoats are irrelevant? That we all need to stop whimpering, whining and blaming one another; pull up our socks? That perhaps we should save instead of spend for a while, work as hard as we can and see this crisis through?

It strikes me that if Pearl Harbor had taken place in December 2008, instead December 1941; we'd still be arguing over who was to blame for the attack - instead of arming ourselves and winning a world war.

This is our generation's world war...this is our big test...and so far we're failing. We're failing because we're wimps. We guard own egos and opinions instead of summoning the courage to find solutions to complex problems.