As the media, the politicians and citizens sort through all of the economic turmoil we are experiencing, one thing occurs to me. The United States is a culture of risk takers. As relates to the financial mess, executive contracts for the large companies in the current spotlight had been written to richly reward success and not penalize failures. These parameters encourage the taking of large risks to find the large reward. This philosophy wouldn’t last long in Las Vegas.
But, the theme of risk doesn’t only lie in casinos and finance. Since the early 90’s, the sports media has been calling every other NBA rookie “the next Jordan”. If you spend enough time with the “cable news” channels, you’ll encounter a culture of prognostication about every kind of topic. One “expert” is predicting when the recession will end. Another is predicting the winner of the NCAA tournament, or the winner of the World Series, or the Super Bowl. For years, every Dec. 31st broadcast predicted that the Dow would hit 10,000…until it did and somehow no one was predicting our current predicament.
Why do we take risks? Why are we addicted to the gamble? It’s not always about the financial rewards. Many times it is simply about creating a mystique of intellect. If I take a big risk and make a wild guess that becomes reality, then I now possess this mysterious illusion of power. How did I do it? I’ll never tell my secret. I just knew.
It’s just another game in our endless pursuit of importance. Pardon me while I go chase my tail.