Tonight, Jim Cramer will appear on The Daily Show to finish the epic basic cable war of words. In all of Mr. Cramer’s defenses of his show, he always seems to defend himself using a “let’s see him do better” or “I did my best”. But the problem isn’t that he was wrong or that he didn’t see the cancer within our banking system. The problem is he likes the perception that he can predict the market. His entire show is based on the idea that he can predict what can happen and what stocks will provide you with the best gains. He needs that image to keep his show afloat.
His problem with Jon Stewart revolves around the loss of this perception. He cannot say he can predict the market if he makes that many mistakes. A prognosticator cannot survive if he failed. And Jim Cramer failed. So, now he has to rehab his image.
I blame most of our current economic and social issues off of perception. We cannot continue to only care about what things look like or what it looks like we are. Look at Bernie Madoff or Bears Stearns. Everything was an illusion of success. But the problem with illusions is that they are not there.
I found two horrible examples of this today.
Is Time Wasting Key To U.S. Productivity?
How can we be proud of a country where we are told to “look busy”? I thought America was based off of the idea of unlimited potential based on work ethic. Now, we’re being told that if you don’t want to get laid off, just spray some water on your face and show up late to meetings so it seems like you are too busy to be on time or to slow down. Great idea Sun-Sentinel!
What would you think if your significant other was concerned that you were not attractive enough to reproduce? And what the hell does that mean? Besides a complete disregard of human decency, why should someone who thinks this way be reproducing? If you are dating a person that you think is ugly, look in the mirror. I would rather have an ugly baby than a baby who was pretentious.
The perception of a person, whether it is the car they drive, the nose on their face, or how well they predict stocks, does not mean a damn thing. We cannot continue to follow willingly behind a pundit. We cannot live outside of our means so it appears that we are rich. And we cannot only focus on the attractiveness of a human being.
If you have a company that is hemorrhaging money, you must say so. If you cannot afford a mortgage for a house you just bought, you have to say so. If you are lazy and don’t want to work hard, you have to say so. Otherwise, you are just an illusion. And one day, we will see through you.
