A WORLD POPULATED BY MODEST PROPOSALS

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We, as humans, are forever attracted to quick fixes, and why wouldn't we be? Quick fixes are the evolutionarily logical thing to go with, as that they save time and energy. As 21st century citizens, we are spoiled by increasingly-convenient innovations and experience more of these "quick fixes" each day; we want everything at our finger tips, everything to be fixed with a single press of a button, an answer to our questions with a single "Hey Siri," and a solution for all our world problems with just one change.

Jonathan Swift's "modest proposal" was one such easy solution. He satirized the proliferation of such simple fixes that claimed to do everything, from "contributing to the feeding... of many thousands" to the "inducement of marriage." Although, from an objective standpoint, Swift's proposal seems logically "good," he completely glossed over the moral implications and the probability of society accepting the solution.

I believe the same applies to most modern-day, mass-marketed solutions. From the "skinny teas" plugged by Instagram influencers which claim to make you lose weight FAST to the self-help books and click-bait articles who boast their ability to change your life with a single life hack, they are all modest proposals which are unlikely to work and an easy way out.

I will confess that I find myself tempted to try products and books. It seems like we never lose hope that one of these solutions will work, even after repeated evidence proving otherwise. It's easy to believe that one solution will solve all your problems, but it's not easy to accept the reality that it probably won't. In a world populated by modest proposals, sometimes we have to accept that solutions are sometimes more in-depth and not as simple as we wish they'd be. World hunger and overpopulation can't be solved by eating babies, just like all our problems can't be solved just by reading a self-help book. 

Comments

  1. molly capelliMarch 17, 2019 at 3:01 PM

    Carol, what a great post! You analyzed the piece in a way I never would have thought about! I always like your posts-keep doing great!

    ReplyDelete

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