There is another side to this. There are those employees who attend these events and go through these brainwashing programs and maintain an intact self system by using the defense of cynicism. They go through the motions, play the game and hold on to their job. Just as the elf in McDonalds looks the customer in the eyes and says � ���"have a nice day� �� � if they are good actors the customer believes it is genuine and not part of the requirements of the role. However, if the customer realizes that if the elf fails to express the correct mood and may be fired then the customer is drawn into the conflict between employee and management.
This brings us to the real function of these positive, Randian, fundamentalist, happiness programs. Their aim is to eliminate employer-employee conflict and create an unquestioning workforce that will idealize its leadership by cherishing their power and wealth while never realizing they are being exploited and oppressed. Also, we can see why these corporations are so vehemently anti-union. Unions are a threat to the executive's power, masculinity, and all the accouterments that go with it; wealth, private jets, limousines, etc. Unions form a collectivity that is capable of defeating the elitist executives and stockholders. However over the years the unions have been reduced to a quarrelsome sort, making concession after concession to the new power elite and there threats. Meanwhile, a workforce faced with the anxiety of being terminated and losing everything, defends against the dread by conforming to the bosses who say � ���"smile.� �� � Those who fail to � ���"smile� �� � or fail to exhibit positive attitudes, no matter what the external reality is, are considered maladjusted. They are either fired or sent to � ���"positive adjustment� �� � events or rallies where they are pumped up with positive emotions in a climate that resembles a religious revival. They are convinced that they must adopt an upbeat vision of reality. This belief creates a state of mind where one must deny reality when reality does not elicit positive feelings.
These specialists in "happiness" argue that we are capable of attracting those things in life (Law of Attraction), whether it is money, relationships or employment, both good and bad if we focus on them. What does this mean? It means those who are abused and battered wives or children, the unemployed, the depressed and mentally ill, the illiterate, the lonely, those crushed by poverty, the terminal illness, those fighting with addictions, those suffering from trauma, those trapped in menial and poorly paid jobs, those who are terminated, those whose homes are in foreclosure or who are filing for bankruptcy because they cannot pay their medical bills, are to blame for their negativity. It's their fault because they are focusing too much on negativity. Hummm, I wonder what they would say about the writer of this book. The positive, happiness, right-wing, evangelical ideology justifies the cruelty of Rands unfettered capitalism and absolves CEO's and bankers of guilt by shifting the blame to those they oppress- � ���"If you are in a sorry state it's your fault, not mine� �� �.
Psychotherapists and psychoanalysts get to work with these employees after the power elite and their positive happiness gurus, coaches and consultants have done their damage. When the employee is burned out, rejected, failed, or accused of being responsible for all the failure in their lives, they then seek genuine help, if they can afford it. But beware, the happiness people are entering the field of psychotherapy with promises of how positive psychology or PP interventions can be used to alleviate depression, anxiety, ADHA, and relationship problems.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
4
3
3
