A totalitarian dystopia - except that the means of control isn't 1984-ish deprivation and surveillance or Brave New World's consumerist luxury, but a steady stream of motivational speakers and Prosperity Gospel preachers.
Yes, it's what happens when the government is taken over by Zig Ziglar clones! Big Brother as portrayed by Joel Osteen!
"Remember, friends - you can be as free as you WANT to be!"-- smendler, Mar 23 2016 California Uber Alles http://www.deadkenn...albums_fresh.html#8Another "positive" Big Brother [bnip, Mar 28 2016] Smile or Die Book Discussion http://tunein.com/topic/?topicId=32451046This book chronicles how positive thinking is becoming mandatory in the work world [lepton, Mar 28 2016] Isn't this already baked on the infomercial channels ?-- normzone, Mar 23 2016 Seems like my every day world.
Also reminds me of the Dilbert cartoon where Dogbert is hired as a negotiation coach for a week's class. 'Buy my new book and I'll let you leave in 5 minutes!'-- RayfordSteele, Mar 23 2016 Fortunately the folks on the infomercial channels don't run the State. Not yet. Or at least, not so far as I know.
I was imagining Osteenities on ALL the billboards, everyone walking around with huge smiles of forced cheerful optimism, "Well, hel-LO Jim, isn't this a BLESSED day? Praise be!" - anyone who exhibited "stinkin' thinkin'," or who wasn't sufficiently energized at work would get escorted away by impossibly polite gendarmes...-- smendler, Mar 27 2016 Desert Bluffs and The Happiness Patrol both bake this in fiction.-- nineteenthly, Mar 28 2016 // not so far as I know. //
<Master Po>
"You have much to learn, grasshopper ..."
</Master Po>-- 8th of 7, Mar 28 2016 Wot?-- po, Mar 28 2016 I believe [8th] is referring to the Master in the series "Kung Fu", after whom you seem to have named yourself.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 28 2016 Thank you for posting this. People like Joel Osteen are a big reason I left Christianity. Religion used to be something that transcended prosperity or lack thereof but in America more often than not that isn't true anymore.-- lepton, Mar 28 2016 random, halfbakery