Thank ya Ray! I'll beg ta differ with the idear our palpably "stoopid" USPS might pass fer an "Intelligence" Agency (ha ha couldn't resist)--but I'll gladly take a look-see at yer "post" (no stamp needed!)-- Yup the ol' post office 'll scan yer mail / invade yer privy-see (!) an' make ye pay fer the privilege! Snow, rain, heat, an' gloom of night stays these stall-warty couriers from venturin' forth an' deliverin' a swift kick ta yer annointed rounds! (mebbe fer the best!) If yer letter comes opened or crushed or with grease stains an' a $73-cent sticker with a demented oldster on it--you've got mail!
Excellent breakdown of a broken-down systemic branch of over-reach in our nation. ...Who is not allowed to abuse us??
IF I recall right, it was Judge David Wynn Miller that stated that post offices hold the highest jurisdiction of the land, as well as have weapons caches stored inside their posts. .... just in case.
We're in an open poisoned air prison. Yay! happy Monday!
...oh yes, an' good memory too! the USPS is now weaponized! there was talk 'bout having armed postal employees work with the IRS to "enforce" their "collection system"...not sure if it materialized, but they already kin steal / scan yer mail if they suspect sumthin' is off (or lose / damage it--they're good at that too lol) an' now they wanna demoralize us with the most depressin' "shame stamps" that look like parody--but aren't!
I'm TRYING to come up with a list of things that are NOT weaponized. Even the glue on the envelopes is NASTY! Even the ink on the receipt from BUYING the shame stamps is an endocrine disputer!
OY is right! What ever happened to stamps with Ansel Adams photography on them? Or how about even a series featuring the Dadaist art of Salvador Dali, Impressionism of Monet or Manet? something with some culturally redeeming features. Instead we are treated to miniatures depicting Decadent Babylon America as it slides down under the Judgement of God Almighty.....
The Post office is clearly suicidal and presiding over its own demise
yup! I do remember the lovely art stamps--I wonder if it's cuz folks no longer even know the great artists an' talents...? my younger girl took a teen pottery class an' the other kids didn't know Van Gogh?!!!! HOW can that be?! But yes, they were more than culturally redeemin'--they were kinda upliftin'--tho' I am partial to the exquisite engraved ones where our leaders an' american know-how was literally ennobled on them mini canvasses... Now? yer right--Decadent Babylon AmeriKa... (oh yup, yer right also that the post office is kinda suicidal--they closed a lotta little town ones up here an' the hours got reduced fer the ones yet standin'.... mostly elderly folks that seem to be "volunteerin'" for their efforts tho' no doubt they're paid)--I think they're tryin' to ruin it all an' make folks "go digital" (tho' they best be careful as some'll "go postal" without real ol' snail mail!)
Superb put down and rallying cry to bring back the aesthetic eye, without which we're doomed for sure. They sucked it out of us to store at the top of their private pyramid. No visual sense = no sense at all, mission accomplished, moron nation, humiliation for all. Good on yer DMCC.
shucks an' thx--an' this is important what'cha say: no visual sense = no sense at all -- so true! our higher senses that were keenly developed! to detect subtleties, ta discern crude craft from high "ahrt" an' everywhar in between--an' yet to appreciate the skill an' beauty even in the everyday--As that was stripped from us with our barely noticin'--so were hundreds (more?) of years of SENSE near-lost! An' it is humiliatin'--the shame of these stamps of embarrassment is just one indicator fer a far bigger loss--aesthetic an' of civil-lie-zayshun itself!
From a branding perspective, you always want to be producing content that resonates with your audience. That resonance is based on two factors: truth and relevance. The audience has to believe what you are saying, and they have to be interested in it. The fact that the USPS has produced these stamps says as much about the Zeitgeist as it does about whatever entity within the Postal Service that approved the topics and artwork.
The fact is, our current population has more struggles with mental health than any in history, and that has been a drastically rapid decline just over the last couple decades. Technology plays a big part in that, as Jonathan Haidt and others have amply proven, but the evolution of social norms is a key factor as well.
One of the key attributes of depression and anxiety is rumination - the tendency to dwell on negative thoughts and feelings. Efforts to raise awareness about mental health may have been well intended (and I'm not sure that they were), but by encouraging people to focus on their trauma, interpersonal grievances, and other unpleasant aspects of life, they feed the exact behavior that makes the problem worse.
What do people do when they are anxious or depressed? They look for things to make themselves feel better. Sometimes, like Betty Ford, that's drugs and alcohol. For many people, it's prescription drugs. And what are we now finding is a potential driver for Alzheimer's disease? Some of the ingredients in prescription antidepressants.
Another thing people do to try to make themselves feel better is to distract themselves by doom-scrolling or otherwise allowing themselves to be hypnotized by electronic media. This behavior activates the default mode network in our brain (which I recently wrote about), essentially, putting ourselves on autopilot. While the DMN is activated, the prefrontal cortex, which is where most of our quality thinking occurs, is pretty much offline.
In other words, this relentless focus on mental health awareness is actually driving not only an epidemic of mental health disasters, but also steadily increasing the portion of our population that's sleepwalking through life with their brains shut off.
"...this relentless focus on mental health awareness is actually driving not only an epidemic of mental health disasters, but also steadily increasing the portion of our population that's sleepwalking through life with their brains shut off. "
Yup, it's the snake eatin' itself--inta self-refective oblivion. AND as ye say, it's NOT GOOD! Indeed sleepwalkin thru life AND some doin' so on "meds."
"Mental Health Awareness" is a huge con game. I didn't go inta this in this post--just focused mostly on the concept of the sorry-assed "image" PROJECTED -- one portrayed in the once-grand stamp but there is a whole thing of young'uns all gettin' props an' "status" points for declarin' THEIR personal mental health crisis! It's like a competition fer sympathy an' popularity--the more dx's ya have (mostly self-diagnosed) the "cooler" you are, the higher yer status.
My girls have both found to their dismay (given that my older gal's an actual Aspie an' does NOT think it's a dang superpower...) that some a' their peers are statin' all sorts of "Mental Health Mumbo Jumbo"--that they are "SOoooo depressed or have "clinical depression" or have a "real anxiety disorder/social anxiety" or "have autism because they are socially 'challenged' an' the new big one is "bi polar".... Who in heck would WANT ta be bi-polar? (Which may not exist, at least as defined). It's like they ate DSM-lite fer breakfast... So the stamps reflect a trend but one that's both real (in that mental health HAS become an issue) an' bogus (everyone WANTS a dx an' "sympathy"...oy) AND either way--a "trend that should not be" an' "should not be us" or how we portray ourselfs either!
So yer other point 'bout content bein' produced to resonate with yer audience is both true--since team everyone (with some exceptions lol) WANTS to dx themselfs an' likely the "AD TEAM" behind USPS picked up on that (tho' there may have been a bit of a canted agenda thar too--I'll leave that alone but tellin' folks they're mentally ill makes 'em BELIEVE it...)--BUT, too, the fact that all the "good stamps" were taken an' only these ROTTEN ones were LEFT means that this was a miscalculation on the part of USPS....
EVEN if the average Joe finds Mental Health issues "relatable" or common... nobuddy seems ta feel they want this on their letters & paid bills. Most would rather have Betty Boop than Betty Ford lol! (meeeee too!)
The mental illness "crisis" is both driven by music, books, online sites /influencers (etc) but ALSO by imagery (such as via stamps, ads, t-shirts, even jewelry with dx's on it!) + the online/tech nightmare (true!) an' kids gettin' near-frog-hopped ta LIVE online (double good plus lol) but also that same media perpetuates the overall picture that tells kids they're mentally ill or depressed! Adults too but more adults have built in yellow lights as they approach the intersection...not kids, teens, even the 20 sumthin's...
There are COUNTLESS "mental health tests" online (I'm sure the gubbamint is watchin' those!) an' tons of sites listin' "symptoms" to push folks inta thinkin' they're depressed or sufferin' "trauma" an' this pushes 'em ta drugs ("scripted" or not!), alky-howl an' other vices that all fry the brain an' create crises where there were none.... Anywhoo...
EVEN tho' yer accurately definin' Amercians as bein' IN a mental health crisis here/at an alltime low... the way OUT has never been "escape inta the metaverse" (as ye say) or goin' on auto-pilot (as ye also pernt out) OR in purchasin' "mental health awareness" stamps or t-shirts or cawfee mugs (all of which exist to my chagrin!)....
Bein' aware--alert--an' just enjoyin' life fergawdsakes sounds hokey but it used ta be how we got ourselfs outta a slump AND how we proudly represented ourselfs-- Thus pioneers & mythmakers (Johnny Appleseed, Daniel Boone) & heroes (many!) used ta populate our stamps & other imagery (skool notebooks, shirts, mugs, etc). Addin' too that when it comes to puttin' our HISTORY on stamps I'd ruther see Thomas Jefferson than the likes of Kitty "I drank rubbin' alcohol" Dukakis" who ALSO has a treatment center named after 'er.
So I like yer pointin' out this other angle as an effect of a real cause (perceived archly by Madison Ave actin' on behalf of USPS)--but just as we agree this situation is a disaster... the solution is both not just sleepwalkin' thru life but in the imagery we choose to represent our better nay BEST selves--livin' fully with all our purposeful accomplish-mints! So with no offense ta Betty Ford, I'd prefer lovely engravin's of the likes of Teddy Roosevelt & John Muir or Abigail "Remember the Ladies" Adams ANY DAY over the lousy stickers that go fer "stamps" right away--hence earin' my stamp of DISapproval lol!
An acutely accurate and intense summary of phenomena symptomatic of an (f)ailing nation with cringeworthy details...
The Post Office has always also functioned as an intelligence agency:
https://rayhorvaththesource.substack.com/p/the-postman-always-rings-twice
Thank ya Ray! I'll beg ta differ with the idear our palpably "stoopid" USPS might pass fer an "Intelligence" Agency (ha ha couldn't resist)--but I'll gladly take a look-see at yer "post" (no stamp needed!)-- Yup the ol' post office 'll scan yer mail / invade yer privy-see (!) an' make ye pay fer the privilege! Snow, rain, heat, an' gloom of night stays these stall-warty couriers from venturin' forth an' deliverin' a swift kick ta yer annointed rounds! (mebbe fer the best!) If yer letter comes opened or crushed or with grease stains an' a $73-cent sticker with a demented oldster on it--you've got mail!
ABSOLUTELY STELLAR! 💥🎯
Damn, we live in a sick world! The definite abolition of Natural Law is apparent.
EXCELLENT creative commentary Daisy! Thank you!
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
If they'da had a *stamping* foot I'd'a put it here 🤣
There's this: 🦶🏻🦶🏻🦶🏻🦶🏻🦶🏻🦶🏻
But that just doesn't convey the same message
here ya go! the Monty Python animated obliteratin' foot ta the rescue!
http://www.adtothebone.com/the-origin-of-the-obliterating-foot-from-monty-pythons-flying-circus/
(Or.... "as seen on teevee" at the end of the clip:)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGZWu79k_Os
Excellent breakdown of a broken-down systemic branch of over-reach in our nation. ...Who is not allowed to abuse us??
IF I recall right, it was Judge David Wynn Miller that stated that post offices hold the highest jurisdiction of the land, as well as have weapons caches stored inside their posts. .... just in case.
We're in an open poisoned air prison. Yay! happy Monday!
...oh yes, an' good memory too! the USPS is now weaponized! there was talk 'bout having armed postal employees work with the IRS to "enforce" their "collection system"...not sure if it materialized, but they already kin steal / scan yer mail if they suspect sumthin' is off (or lose / damage it--they're good at that too lol) an' now they wanna demoralize us with the most depressin' "shame stamps" that look like parody--but aren't!
I'm TRYING to come up with a list of things that are NOT weaponized. Even the glue on the envelopes is NASTY! Even the ink on the receipt from BUYING the shame stamps is an endocrine disputer!
Your writing is really top notch!
OY is right! What ever happened to stamps with Ansel Adams photography on them? Or how about even a series featuring the Dadaist art of Salvador Dali, Impressionism of Monet or Manet? something with some culturally redeeming features. Instead we are treated to miniatures depicting Decadent Babylon America as it slides down under the Judgement of God Almighty.....
The Post office is clearly suicidal and presiding over its own demise
yup! I do remember the lovely art stamps--I wonder if it's cuz folks no longer even know the great artists an' talents...? my younger girl took a teen pottery class an' the other kids didn't know Van Gogh?!!!! HOW can that be?! But yes, they were more than culturally redeemin'--they were kinda upliftin'--tho' I am partial to the exquisite engraved ones where our leaders an' american know-how was literally ennobled on them mini canvasses... Now? yer right--Decadent Babylon AmeriKa... (oh yup, yer right also that the post office is kinda suicidal--they closed a lotta little town ones up here an' the hours got reduced fer the ones yet standin'.... mostly elderly folks that seem to be "volunteerin'" for their efforts tho' no doubt they're paid)--I think they're tryin' to ruin it all an' make folks "go digital" (tho' they best be careful as some'll "go postal" without real ol' snail mail!)
Thanks for the astute observations, Daisy! More evidence of illness on all levels...
Superb put down and rallying cry to bring back the aesthetic eye, without which we're doomed for sure. They sucked it out of us to store at the top of their private pyramid. No visual sense = no sense at all, mission accomplished, moron nation, humiliation for all. Good on yer DMCC.
shucks an' thx--an' this is important what'cha say: no visual sense = no sense at all -- so true! our higher senses that were keenly developed! to detect subtleties, ta discern crude craft from high "ahrt" an' everywhar in between--an' yet to appreciate the skill an' beauty even in the everyday--As that was stripped from us with our barely noticin'--so were hundreds (more?) of years of SENSE near-lost! An' it is humiliatin'--the shame of these stamps of embarrassment is just one indicator fer a far bigger loss--aesthetic an' of civil-lie-zayshun itself!
Such an excellent statement.
From a branding perspective, you always want to be producing content that resonates with your audience. That resonance is based on two factors: truth and relevance. The audience has to believe what you are saying, and they have to be interested in it. The fact that the USPS has produced these stamps says as much about the Zeitgeist as it does about whatever entity within the Postal Service that approved the topics and artwork.
The fact is, our current population has more struggles with mental health than any in history, and that has been a drastically rapid decline just over the last couple decades. Technology plays a big part in that, as Jonathan Haidt and others have amply proven, but the evolution of social norms is a key factor as well.
One of the key attributes of depression and anxiety is rumination - the tendency to dwell on negative thoughts and feelings. Efforts to raise awareness about mental health may have been well intended (and I'm not sure that they were), but by encouraging people to focus on their trauma, interpersonal grievances, and other unpleasant aspects of life, they feed the exact behavior that makes the problem worse.
What do people do when they are anxious or depressed? They look for things to make themselves feel better. Sometimes, like Betty Ford, that's drugs and alcohol. For many people, it's prescription drugs. And what are we now finding is a potential driver for Alzheimer's disease? Some of the ingredients in prescription antidepressants.
Another thing people do to try to make themselves feel better is to distract themselves by doom-scrolling or otherwise allowing themselves to be hypnotized by electronic media. This behavior activates the default mode network in our brain (which I recently wrote about), essentially, putting ourselves on autopilot. While the DMN is activated, the prefrontal cortex, which is where most of our quality thinking occurs, is pretty much offline.
In other words, this relentless focus on mental health awareness is actually driving not only an epidemic of mental health disasters, but also steadily increasing the portion of our population that's sleepwalking through life with their brains shut off.
lotta truths here! the most salient'd be this:
"...this relentless focus on mental health awareness is actually driving not only an epidemic of mental health disasters, but also steadily increasing the portion of our population that's sleepwalking through life with their brains shut off. "
Yup, it's the snake eatin' itself--inta self-refective oblivion. AND as ye say, it's NOT GOOD! Indeed sleepwalkin thru life AND some doin' so on "meds."
"Mental Health Awareness" is a huge con game. I didn't go inta this in this post--just focused mostly on the concept of the sorry-assed "image" PROJECTED -- one portrayed in the once-grand stamp but there is a whole thing of young'uns all gettin' props an' "status" points for declarin' THEIR personal mental health crisis! It's like a competition fer sympathy an' popularity--the more dx's ya have (mostly self-diagnosed) the "cooler" you are, the higher yer status.
My girls have both found to their dismay (given that my older gal's an actual Aspie an' does NOT think it's a dang superpower...) that some a' their peers are statin' all sorts of "Mental Health Mumbo Jumbo"--that they are "SOoooo depressed or have "clinical depression" or have a "real anxiety disorder/social anxiety" or "have autism because they are socially 'challenged' an' the new big one is "bi polar".... Who in heck would WANT ta be bi-polar? (Which may not exist, at least as defined). It's like they ate DSM-lite fer breakfast... So the stamps reflect a trend but one that's both real (in that mental health HAS become an issue) an' bogus (everyone WANTS a dx an' "sympathy"...oy) AND either way--a "trend that should not be" an' "should not be us" or how we portray ourselfs either!
So yer other point 'bout content bein' produced to resonate with yer audience is both true--since team everyone (with some exceptions lol) WANTS to dx themselfs an' likely the "AD TEAM" behind USPS picked up on that (tho' there may have been a bit of a canted agenda thar too--I'll leave that alone but tellin' folks they're mentally ill makes 'em BELIEVE it...)--BUT, too, the fact that all the "good stamps" were taken an' only these ROTTEN ones were LEFT means that this was a miscalculation on the part of USPS....
EVEN if the average Joe finds Mental Health issues "relatable" or common... nobuddy seems ta feel they want this on their letters & paid bills. Most would rather have Betty Boop than Betty Ford lol! (meeeee too!)
The mental illness "crisis" is both driven by music, books, online sites /influencers (etc) but ALSO by imagery (such as via stamps, ads, t-shirts, even jewelry with dx's on it!) + the online/tech nightmare (true!) an' kids gettin' near-frog-hopped ta LIVE online (double good plus lol) but also that same media perpetuates the overall picture that tells kids they're mentally ill or depressed! Adults too but more adults have built in yellow lights as they approach the intersection...not kids, teens, even the 20 sumthin's...
There are COUNTLESS "mental health tests" online (I'm sure the gubbamint is watchin' those!) an' tons of sites listin' "symptoms" to push folks inta thinkin' they're depressed or sufferin' "trauma" an' this pushes 'em ta drugs ("scripted" or not!), alky-howl an' other vices that all fry the brain an' create crises where there were none.... Anywhoo...
EVEN tho' yer accurately definin' Amercians as bein' IN a mental health crisis here/at an alltime low... the way OUT has never been "escape inta the metaverse" (as ye say) or goin' on auto-pilot (as ye also pernt out) OR in purchasin' "mental health awareness" stamps or t-shirts or cawfee mugs (all of which exist to my chagrin!)....
Bein' aware--alert--an' just enjoyin' life fergawdsakes sounds hokey but it used ta be how we got ourselfs outta a slump AND how we proudly represented ourselfs-- Thus pioneers & mythmakers (Johnny Appleseed, Daniel Boone) & heroes (many!) used ta populate our stamps & other imagery (skool notebooks, shirts, mugs, etc). Addin' too that when it comes to puttin' our HISTORY on stamps I'd ruther see Thomas Jefferson than the likes of Kitty "I drank rubbin' alcohol" Dukakis" who ALSO has a treatment center named after 'er.
So I like yer pointin' out this other angle as an effect of a real cause (perceived archly by Madison Ave actin' on behalf of USPS)--but just as we agree this situation is a disaster... the solution is both not just sleepwalkin' thru life but in the imagery we choose to represent our better nay BEST selves--livin' fully with all our purposeful accomplish-mints! So with no offense ta Betty Ford, I'd prefer lovely engravin's of the likes of Teddy Roosevelt & John Muir or Abigail "Remember the Ladies" Adams ANY DAY over the lousy stickers that go fer "stamps" right away--hence earin' my stamp of DISapproval lol!
Thanks thar fer the great comment!