Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Jewish Normalcy Bias

The normalcy bias refers to an extreme mental state people enter when facing a disaster. It causes people to underestimate both the possibility of a disaster occurring and its possible effects. This often results in situations where people fail to adequately prepare for a disaster, and on a larger scale, the failure of the government to include the populace in its disaster preparations. The assumption that is made in the case of the normalcy bias is that since a disaster never has occurred that it never will occur. It also results in the inability of people to cope with a disaster once it occurs. People with a normalcy bias have difficulties reacting to something they have not experienced before. People also tend to interpret warnings in the most optimistic way possible, seizing on any ambiguities to infer a less serious situation.

Recently I watched The Diary of Anne Frank and it really depicts a true case of normalcy bias.  Before World War II, Nazis started quickly regulating the rights of the Jewish population.  Yeah they might have big noses and weird beliefs, but they were and are really great business people.  They were the ones running the solid business' and being productive in quickly turning socialistic to communistic European Nations.  Yet as their rights were rapidly being taken away, they continued to believe things could not get any worse.  I feel the same thing is going on in our own nation now.

But how much worse?  I don't exactly know.  I do understand economics and I do understand derivatives.  Maybe I'm not a big enough thinker that this economy and nation can be saved.  How can it though?  I fear my nation is falling to an American Normalcy Bias.  Possibly I am too.  It would probably make more sense for me to bail the country and move to Brazil.  They have a solid and growing economy.  A nation rich in resources to maintain their selves.  Plus I fluently speak Portuguese (or at least I use to).  I guess though that would relinquish a belief in a possible Zion being established.  I have to choose... believe God will save me... or believe logic will save my life.  Sooner or later though we will all die.  We all die... that is one of the truest of truths I know.

What to do?  I guess just live everyday doing your best and seeking truth.  You have to believe your conscience truly communicates with God.

I fear not my own future yet the future of my family.  They are blind and failing to normalcy bias as much as every other blind American.   I guess I have to be careful what I say on here.  You could get in trouble for being a crazy or something.  I'm no crazy than the next person.  I see crazy people on the news... I guess they snapped.  It makes no sense to snap though.  It only gives up your self-control.  Even though their are many laws out their that are restricting our human rights, you have to obey the laws.  You break the law you go into captivity.

Will I be prepared? I hope so.  But how prepared can you really be? I guess just mentally.  I worry about being able to produce, but yet again how can an entrepreneur at heart not produce?  It's hard to think though that as the economy really gets worst who will be able to buy and sell real estate.  That is how make money.  If transactions do not occur how to I get paid?  Guess I should have invested better for cash flow.  Hopefully with inflation I can get higher amounts of rent on the condo.  That is probably my best option.  We can always produce though.  That we must believe.  We can always produce.

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