Suicide by Natural Causes

The "Dow Keeps Dropping" and "College Costs Keep Rising" were the two main stories in the Business section on CNN.com for most of an unusually warm October Monday. Various economic analysts are frantically gnawing their fingernails like an obsessive compulsive schizophrenic. They fear a dreaded recession, which might be nostalgic for those wrinkly folks who were alive in the late 1920's and early 1930's, but if this economic decline keeps up those unfortunate elders could be the first Americans to experience two economic depressions in one lifetime. What a shame, what a shame.

And with the not-so-mighty dollar getting flogged by foreign currency on a continuous basis, I'm considering doing what Christopher McCandless did back in 1992. McCandless inspired the best selling book and recently released movie Into the Wild. For those unfamiliar with his travels and adventures, Wikipedia will provide an abridged version of a truly fascinating tale (Christopher McCandless on Wikipedia).

I've always imagined what it would be like to abandon my current life and head out west; devoid of any long term goals and solely focused on whatever situation I was presented with at the time. Oddly enough, money or the lack there of has kept me from mustering up the courage to get in my car and go. Instead, the "realist" inside of me senses that such a journey will bring about serious monetary problems upon my return to the "normal" life.

The solution to this is to do exactly as McCandless and go into the wild, for good or ill. It would certainly be suicide by natural causes, and maybe that was what McCandless was really after. From what I know about him, it appears that he was genuinely disenfranchised with the society and world he was living in. He was appalled by the incredibly materialistic and superficial culture that has polluted American ideals. But any rational and righteous person should possess similar beliefs. Then again, in this new millennium, it appears that rationalism is slowly being smothered by foolhardy behavior and a viciously mutant form of greed.

I've written articles similar in nature to this one-albeit not properly punctuated (see: Welcome to the Crossroads)-but unlike the linked article this is not a "battle cry" as much as it is a grim reflection on a nation that continues to stoop to new lows. A recent study (Emotions and Sleep Deprivation) has found that the lack of sleep causes the brain to revert to "more primitive behavior". And it is common, now more than ever, for people to suffer from sleep deprivation. This is due to the technological world we live in. People of all ages are in front of a screen, whether it is a television or computer, for hours a day, which can screw up the triggering of melatonin (a hormone that helps facilitate sleep) in the brain. Additionally, since cases of depression are up, worrying also makes it difficult to find sleep. For more on sleep deprivation and non-drug related techniques for better sleep click the following link: Live Science: Sleep Deprivation and Techniques for Better Sleep

While this seems irrelevant to the downfall of American society, it is important to understand that the decisions we make as a nation (or don't make) are largely affected by emotional impulses. After all, people are emotionally driven creatures and if a large portion of us are lacking sleep and emotionally irrational, bad things are bound to come.

So rest up, tomorrow is a big day.