We’ve got to overcome

With everything going on in the world, I hear many people talking about overcoming adversity. They tend to talk about what everyone needs to do to help the world. It could be around climate change, political corruption, the economy, COVID, or any number of topics.

I remember hearing a story years ago about a famous actor. He was at the top of his craft and had the finances to rival almost anyone. He was concerned about the state of the world and the use of fossil fuels. He saw the impact it had on the earth and what climate change meant to future humans.

He held a townhall meeting, filmed before an audience. He made pointed comments about the evil corporations and how we all have to do our part. Then, as he finished up, he jumped into his personal airplane and flew home.

The airplane used as much fuel in that trip as anyone in the audience uses in a week. After that, his words rang hollow. He might have saw this as a concern worth addressing. But it felt as though he was just doing it to boost his reputation and ability to make more money.

But he isn’t unique. This is the way most people address major problems. They see the problem as something others need to solve. They feel innocent. They may even feel victimized. Yet they are a direct contributor to the problem. They are part of the same systems.

So when I hear the media promote the idea of overcoming adversity, I am cautious. Are they willing to do something or just tell everyone else to do something? Is this another ploy to get your attention so they can increase their ratings? If the ratings go up, they sell more expensive advertisements and the network makes more money. Their income is related to their ability to generate revenue from these advertisements. That is a very powerful system and is driving their strategy on a daily basis.

Sure, they say the important thing is for us to all come together, unite, and then overcome the problems of the world. But there is a caveat. They really mean they want that, as long as they continue to make more and more money.

They aren’t evil. They are part of a business system. All businesses exist to generate money. Even non-profits have to generate money to push their cause. It is easy to fall for the idea that the business exists for the cause but that isn’t true. The business exists because it generates revenue. The cause gives them alignment and a way to obtain the money.

This doesn’t mean they are bad. It doesn’t mean they don’t provide value. It means that money for a business is like air for people. We won’t survive without it. It is necessary.

Once we have enough air, we can turn our attention to higher needs. Abraham Maslow described this with his hierarchy of needs. We can use the money for good things. But take that money/air away and the system stops.

Again, this isn’t to say people are bad or selfish. That is linear thinking. It is to say that the full system is often much different than what gets presented. The full system involves all those elements and how they all interconnect.

Giving money to a non-profit that does meaningful work helps them generate enough “air” to keep going. Take that away and the good benefits from that organization goes away as well. They are inextricably linked.

If you find yourself feeling as though, “we’ve got to overcome.” Realize that you have control over you. You can overcome. You can improve. You can do better. So don’t get frustrated when others don’t overcome the problems you face for you, even if they claim they want to. Focus on self-improvement, not external criticisms.