Shared Anger and a $20,000,000 Investment

anger_blog.jpgBy 

Alternative title: 2016 Update on the State of Civil Discourse or Lack Thereof: How It Affects Today’s Real Estate Market. I know, not much of a title but, trust me, I think it is worth the read if for nothing else than to gain even more perspective.

The ripple of a decision made, and then expanded in 1980, is hitting us today:

1. We have an angry Donald Trump as the Republican nominee for US President by tapping into fear and other emotions (greed, xenophobia, etc.).

2. We have the politicization of the affordability issue in the Vancouver real estate market, filled with anger, vitriol, and “open mouths with closed ears”.

3. Terrorists are creating videos specifically designed to be so disturbing that they will be distributed and shared through social media and exposed to as many people as possible.

4. Nationalism and xenophobia are creeping (or rushing) into almost every debate – no matter what the subject.

5. There is a constant “hunt for blame” rather than a “hunt for real, nuanced solutions”.

6. There is a reticence for any public figure, at any level, to change their opinions once new information is gathered because of the fear of being roasted. Although we all understand that great leaders should always testing their own hypotheses, the ability to change your mind when new data or information is discovered is critical.

Frankly, our civilization’s current path does not lead to a very good place, and all of this can be traced right to a simple $20,000,000 investment in creating a new vision.

Dysfunctional has now become the new accepted normal

As with many decisions that are made or actions that are taken, there are unintended consequences that follow along with the hoped-for result. Increasingly more often in today’s society it seems as if long-term or ‘unintended consequences’ are no longer even considered… speed of decision seems to win over careful thought.

We witness it in all parts of life:

  • Investors buying properties without spending that extra time for due diligence or analysis.
  • Business owners making reactionary short term decisions for quick profit, without considering long term impact on their clients or their employees.
  • Government officials pushing their agendas forward (licensing of rental suites, increasing property taxes, eliminating affordable secondary suites, etc.) with only the initial consequence in mind. “Seen to do something” is considered more powerful than long-term planning.
  • People not eating healthy, then wondering why they don’t feel good. A spouse treating his partner poorly and wondering why neither is happy. People chasing the all-mighty dollar (or their own egos), only to wake up alone and lonely.

Each of the above can be considered as treating the symptom rather than the underlying disease.
Whether it be in business, real estate markets, economies, or personal health, the search for the ‘magic pill’ to take and someone to blame for the problem has taken us so far away from real-life solutions it is becoming dangerous.

Mouths Open – Ears Shut

People who have their mouths open and their ears shut are those who avoid discourse and true discussion by talking/yelling their point of view (often repeatedly and often based in anger). They are in such a charge about their issue that they can never hear a potential solution. It serves them more, at some level, to be angry. Psychologically it gives them perceived purpose, strength, and moral superiority. Most truly believe they are doing the “right thing.” Physically, it gives them a shot of cortisol that becomes addictive.

Often these people have an underlying, often unacknowledged, fear. Fear of the unknown and a fear of a real life solution being presented and their platform/problem being taken away. Where will they get their cortisol buzz then? Thus, their mouths are open and their ears are shut in self-preservation.

Yet, given the state of our national and international discourse and the number of people who are now addicted to anger, these persistently loud ones are the people who are getting the most attention, thus fueling our trip away from real life long-term solutions.

From this increased attention to the loud and angry, decisions are made and policies created that have a MASSIVE impact not only on those involved but also on society as a whole.

So How Did We Get Here? The Tipping Points

Once again, unintended consequences of decisions made previously have led us to where we are today. This is not to apportion blame, it is to show how, when the difficult conversation around unintended consequences comes up, it should not be ignored.

For instance, one of those decisions seemed benign enough when it was made back in 1980: the simple launch of a new way for consumers to access news and, for the owner of the idea, a $20,000,000 investment that has turned into a massive fortune. Sounds like a win so far. But wait, the unintended consequences of this investment has led us, via three very clear tipping points (most of which could not be foreseen at the beginning but became clear along the timeline), to the dramatic decline in public discourse and the quality of the message the general populace receives. Its impact is so far reaching it has led to the world’s economic and political instability.

Tipping Point 1: CNN Plants the Seed, 24 Hour News Grows, Audiences Divide

Yes, it all started with a simple and ground-breaking idea called Cable News Network (CNN): an idea that was so revolutionary in its day that it was rejected many times before the financing finally came together for the launch.

Caught up in the enthusiasm of the idea and celebration, it would have been next to impossible to forecast the massive fall-out from its launch. “Unintended consequences, who cares? We’re going to inform the public like never before!”

Tipping Point 2: “Gimme A Piece Of That!”

The success of CNN and the fame it brought many of its on-air talent led to many copycats being launched, each having to carve out a part of the audience share. This gave rise to an increasing polarization of the message, more ‘hyperbole of story’, and more opinion, less journalism. All in the name of attracting an audience so that ad prices would increase and make the business viable.
Both in the US and Canada the battle was waged for more viewers and they found that people would stick around longer, much longer, for stories based in fear, anger or polarized opinion. This, of course, led to increased exposure to those with BIG personalities, BIG opinions and often BIG anger. Sadly, this became the norm.

Even sadder, as a populace, we began to adopt this approach to life. What we see enough times in media is what we adopt in society. Anger, disgust, and ‘hurt’ became the defaults for many. Heck, I caught the disease for a short while myself – it was contagious!

The more that anger got attention, the more it became the norm. The more it became the norm, the more it was tapped into. And the “Angry” didn’t even know they were being played for financial gain. That’s the ironic part – many were angry at the very people/corporations/politicians who were ‘playing’ them and that continues today.

Tipping Point 3: Adding Rocket Fuel to the Raging Fire

If you are following along, you know what comes next. The launch of social media platforms that profit from the ability to allow the “Angry” to get their cortisol hits even more regularly. Sure, social media platforms do serve some positive purpose of connecting and disseminating information. But, just like electronic media discovered, without the angry people, traffic and therefore users and therefore ad revenue or valuations and therefore stock prices would be much, much smaller.
Yup, entrepreneurs once again discovered how to turn anger into gold, a new type of alchemy. The “Angry” are once again filling the bank accounts of those they don’t even know. (Imagine how angry the “Angry” would be if they knew this).

Here We Are – What Do We Want To Be Known For?

So here we sit. We get to decide as a society if this is the path on which we wish to continue. It is true, we do get to choose. We can continue to let the “Angry” drive our bus towards the cliff while corporations profit from their emotions, OR we can start making our way to the front of the bus to take the wheel.

If we choose a different path than the one we find ourselves stuck on, it’s time to become…

*less manipulated by the raw emotions that are being sold to us,

*more mindful of how many times we are purposely distracted, often at our detriment, during each day,

*less drawn into the yelling and the cortisol jolts it gives us,

*more open to discussion, learning new facts, discovering new approaches, and being OK with changing our minds or adopting an idea we previously rejected, when these new facts warrant it,

*less accepting of our political leaders who tap into our emotions so we actually use our brains to consider the consequences of their decisions,

*more willing to take smaller, incremental (or maybe large and dramatic) steps back towards intelligent discourse and farther away from polarization,

*less addicted to the tools, apps and people who use anger to fuel their personal gains or personal bank accounts, and

* More civil because, really, that is the base of civilization. And the world could definitely use a lot more ‘civilization’ right now.

Anger is rampant and look where it got us… there are BIG issues we need to deal with – locally, nationally, and internationally. Once we decide how we, as a society, wish to develop solutions then we can get on with it.

Remember, when they do a study 20 years in the future to see how we dealt with today’s issues and possibly look for blame (as is human nature), I think most of us would prefer to be looked at as problem solvers, not as a commentary in an academic paper asking the question, “What were they thinking?”

P.S. This manipulated anger trend is so rampant that there was a hit rock song written about it in the UK called “Angry Mob” by Kaiser Chiefs (lyric quote: “We are the angry mob, we read the papers every day, we like who we like, we hate who we hate but we’re oh so easily swayed).

began his investing career in 1985 with a house purchased in Mission, BC. He is Founding Partner and Senior Analyst at the Real Estate Investment Network and currently owns nearly 200 doors in BC and Alberta. A seven-time best-selling author, Don’s expertise and passion for teaching Canadians how to create wealth through real estate are far-reaching and have made an impact on the lives of thousands. You can follow his daily thoughts on Twitter – www.twitter.com/ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thereinman.

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