Hope Shouldn't Replace Logic

Lately, there's a disturbing trend amongst people I know.

"Well, it HAS to happen."

I hear this a lot. A friend will be talking about something they want--money, a new job, a better place to live--and they'll start using very firm phrasing.

"It WILL happen."
"It's GOING to happen."
"It's pretty much SET."

Now, I understand the value of positive reinforcement, but what worries me is that these people are actually planning on their dreams coming true. The flip side of that is that they're not planning for anything else.

It reminds me of watching televangelists heal people. They place their hands on them, and suddenly a body full of cancer has been cured.

I'm not judging someone for wanting to believe that God or belief can come to their rescue, but the scary part is that those people will most likely never see a doctor again after the "healing" has occurred.

In my opinion, having a dream is fine, but keep in mind what it is--it's a dream. It's the ideal. It's the best case scenario.

That means you should also be thinking about the worst case scenario, and planning accordingly.

Dreams shouldn't be replacing logic.

People have gone from hoping to expecting to basically assuming without any consideration for what it is they're assuming is going to happen.

Initially I thought this new transition from hope to "have" was because of that growing sense of entitlement that swells with each passing generation. Now though, I wonder if it's because the economy has gotten so tough that people are now put in positions where there doesn't seem to be any hope. Things they could never have conceived of happening are happening, and they're ill-equipped to deal with them emotionally or financially.

When losing your house becomes a reality, it must be easier to just say--"I WILL win the lottery, because I have to."

We've all been brought up in America, which means we live in a movie culture, where everything ends well. Nobody ever stays down on the bottom for very long. Maybe that explains the frustration with the continuing struggle the country is going through even though we knew it wasn't going to be a quick fix.

Last year, the television show "Glee" launched an online campaign to find potential actors. I could tell that it was all a publicity stunt, but nearly everyone I know submitted a video. When I said that I thought this was a waste of time, I got attacked by people who said they were only "pursuing their dream."

To me, pursuing a dream is hard work--not uploading a video. "Glee" has announced all the information about their second season, and--surprise--nobody from that online campaign is mentioned.

I don't entirely blame people for wanting an instant dream-come-true. When you're surrounded by reality television stars who achieve fame and fortune just by walking around their house while cameras film them, the perception of how hard it is to actually achieve your dream would obviously become distorted.

During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, officials were asked why there hadn't been a better plan. When they knew the levees were in the conditions they were in, and they knew a hurricane was coming, why didn't they do something?

The response was--"We were hoping for the best."

President Obama's response to that still resonates with me.

"Hope is not a plan."

I'm worried that for a growing number of people in this country, hope is the only plan they have.