Conspiracy Theory...

Perhaps the world is really more complex than I realized. Perhaps, the higher up government officials, and those even higher than that, are secretly plotting, strategizing, and thinking about both short-term and long-term effects of things.

Have you ever wondered why so many sitcoms, dramas, etc. have three or more kids per family...even though the national average is still two? Why don't 50% of married folks on these shows get a divorce...it's 50% nationally (actually a bit higher now)? What about those with ashma? Arthritis? Even diabetes? Where are all of those folks? What about overweight folks...or those that struggle with staying in shape by keeping a strict diet and going to the gym or running?

I know these aren't appealing concepts...that sexuality sells...as does one big happy family. But at what point does our entertainment and fantasies affect our realities?

Is there some conspiracy to have more kids than just two? If so...why? Is our economy and growth that closely linked to having more kids than fewer kids?

Have you ever wondered what would happen if folks realized that cell phones really are a nicety...not anything more? For the majority of us, an internet connection isn't needed either...we could live without it. A new car or car with less than 100K miles...not really a necessity at all. The lesser quality of American cars kind of reenforces these ideas...those cars rarely last like a Japanese or European car. Why? Why do American car companies want us to either a) buy a new car every 50K miles...or b) put tons of maintenance costs into our American cars? It just seems weird to me. Don't 3-year leases imply that most folks really shouldn't own a car more than 3 years before changing them out? Don't 1 year warranties imply that the product probably won't really last reliably more than a year? Even cell phone contracts being one year, sometimes two years implies that we should get a new plan and new phone at the end of that time...but do we really need one?

What if America realized it didn't need to consume as much as it did? It would be a global impact. Everything from food, to clothes, to cars, to cell phones...why do we have this desire to consume (shop, eat, have the "newest", keep up with the "Jones", etc)? And how much of that is fed to us rather than it being selfgenerated?

Just random thoughts on a Monday morning.