We’ve previously noted the similarities between the Bushies’ arrogant hubris and the “create your own reality” corporate-motivation side of New Age philosophy. Now, Barbara Ehrenreich makes the even more obvious connection between this “law of attraction”/”visualization” ideology and the recent Wall Street misadventure:

“The tomes in airport bookstores’ business sections warn against ‘negativity’ and advise the reader to be at all times upbeat, optimistic, brimming with confidence. It’s a message companies relentlessly reinforced—treating their white-collar employees to manic motivational speakers and revival-like motivational events, while sending the top guys off to exotic locales to get pumped by the likes of Tony Robbins and other success gurus. Those who failed to get with the program would be subjected to personal ‘coaching’ or shown the door….”No one was psychologically prepared for hard times when they hit, because, according to the tenets of positive thinking, even to think of trouble is to bring it on.”

I’ve also noted that the Obamans’ “hope” mantra is vastly different from positive thinking’s yin-without-yang, comedy-without-tragedy worldview. Hope says the pains of life do exist, but they don’t have to persist.