Everyone wants an “Edge” … wants to have “a Leg UP” … wants to Beat the Odds …
In fact, we will go to any length – even lying, cheating and stealing when the chips are down – to “get our due” … and, preferably more, wherever possible.
“In 2007, gambling activities [in the US] generated gross revenues
(the difference between the total amounts wagered [and] “winnings”
returned to the players) of $92.27 billion in the United States.”
Wikipedia
“The biggest impediment in all online dating is the dishonesty …
the inaccurate picture given by misleading answers to a questionnaire …
the inflated job descriptions, the 10-year-old photo … “
Belinda Luscombe quoting Paul Oyer [Time August 18, 2014, p. 52]
Check It Out
“Why America Loves a Con Man”
By James Surowieck
[Reader’s Digest, 09-2014, pp. 120-123]
So, what’s the primary driving force behind our relentless bent toward “Beating the System”?
I suggest two core elements:
1. We’re not particularly fond of authority (seen as “System” enforcers and perpetuators associated with oppression and replete with “Special Interest” hidden agendas, thus, we feel “justified” in bending the rules as far in our favor as possible);
2. Behind a backdrop of “Standing Our Ground for Freedom” (but rarely in front of it), we are, at the core, manipulators; it’s simply who we are and what we do! The minute we learn the power of “No!”, our mission as manipulators becomes patently obvious and ingrained.
Elements that reinforce a BTS orientation include:
1. We’re “Special” … and, thus, entitled to anything we can “get away with”
2. It’s the most “sporting” thing we can do:
a. It requires no special equipment
b. We compete on our own terms
c. It showcases our cleverness
d. Potential risks are seen as trivial compared to potential gains
e. There are no rules … other than those we make ourselves
Wow!
How “cool” is THAT?
As it turns out, there are multiple ways to Beat the System. We can attempt to Beat the System either constructively or destructively … either objectively or subjectively … for either immediate gratification or delayed gratification … with abandon or with discipline.
Food as a prime example [NOTE: A lot depends on which system we’re trying to beat]:
In the kitchen, grocery store or restaurant, one can “Beat the System” by:
1. Creating/purchasing/ordering the most delectable, highest caloric and most decadent selections possible (consequences be damned … after all, we’re making the rules here!);* [In this case, we’re fighting the “System” that says ‘Eat your vegetables’] or
2. Creating/purchasing/ordering the most health-promoting and “enlifening” options. While many would say there are nonesuch, this is where the constructive side of “Beating the System” goes into full gear, compelling us to experiment with whatever elements the “System” gives us to create the healthiest options. [In this case, we’re fighting the “System” that says ‘The greatest pleasure is the highest good.’]
The results, of course, differ dramatically.
Now, here’s the most sobering revelation: WE are part of “The System”. In fact, we ARE “The System” most frequently in need of transcendence. [The official list of human vices embedded in our “System” includes: Lust, Avarice, Sloth, Gluttony, Pride, Envy, Anger. Talk about flagrant, overbearing, conscriptive, tyrannical driving forces!] The fact is that, given unlimited choices, we will almost invariably – to our great misfortune – choose that which pleases us rather than that which is “good” for us … which, almost as invariably, results in health problems, legal problems, financial problems, etc., which, curiously, the “outside” system we so adamantly fight against is designed to help us prevent!
It’s worth noting that the “Greater “System” has evolved over millennia to provide a framework for sustainable civilization, not necessarily to support every whim and fancy of individual citizens. Some parts of the “System” we don’t particularly like have been put in place to keep us from tripping over ourselves and/or from undue imposition on or by others. One might, thus, conjecture that the best way to “Beat the System” is to join it!
Point to Ponder
Maybe the system is there to help,
and our biggest challenge is to make ourselves “helpable”?
[Whoa! Who does THAT?]
Without doubt, powerful cartels of special interests have found ways to ingrain and impose their own agendas upon, within and around “The System”. (These special interests are only the most glaring examples of what we would do if we were in their shoes or if given enough latitude!) However, as much as it gives one pause, it gives us some degree of understanding that “The System” can work and can BE worked … it’s just a whole lot better if it’s done to everybody’s advantage.
Finally, we have to allow that perfection of “The System” is yet to be achieved and we have to keep fighting to make it better. This is more effectively done from within, although “breaking the mold” sometimes requires more drastic action.
Point to Ponder
The US was not founded by a bunch of systems sympathizers!
However, these “change agents” were not trying to “Beat the System”.
They were committed to creating a new and better system.
Further Point to Ponder
Civilization as we know it would have been impossible without the compulsion to better our own circumstances. Those most responsible even found ways to channel the vices into constructive engagement. (Lust gave us laborers and consumers; Avarice created banks; Sloth brought us labor-saving devices; Gluttony gave us limitless food choices; Pride brought us excellence; Envy called us to better ourselves; and Anger provided righteous indignation against deplorable action and failure.]
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*SPECIAL NOTE on hypercaloric loading to beat the system: There are multiple “Systems” involved here. Hunger is a “system” unto itself, and hypercaloric loading is an over-the-top way to combat hunger-driven deprivation. However, another “system” involved here is the food industry. The food industry is geared to generate maximum profits and will stop at nothing to separate us from our money – as we so willingly indulge! The food industry is both ruthless and relentless in devising irresistible combinations of sugar, salt and fat. [How about the newest sensation: Krispy Kreme Bacon Cheeseburger Delight! http://treasures-by-brenda.squidoo.com/krispykremeburger] When McDonald’s launched its McLean burger – giving at least a passing nod to those clamoring for more healthy food choices, it found sales were so anemic they eventually had to give in to what was selling best and give up on the McLean.
“The McDonald’s Deluxe line [including the McLean] was a series of sandwiches introduced in the mid-1990s and marketed by McDonald’s with the intent of capturing the adult fast food consumer market, presented as a more sophisticated burger for an adult palate. It failed to catch on and is now considered one of the most expensive flops of all time.” [Wikipedia]
Recognizing this new [old] reality of the marketplace, McDonald’s followed the demise of the McLean by launching a $200 million campaign advertising its successor – a triple bacon double cheeseburger.
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Alternative Strategies May Be Important:
“US [soccer] teams have been run with the implicit understanding that they rely on hustle because they aren’t skilled or schooled enough to play straight up with elite teams.”
Jürgen Klinsmann, Coach of the US World Cup Soccer Team
Other Examples
The US “System” for connecting the states involves an imponderable concatenation of roadways. If you want to “Beat” that system:
1. Buy a “hybrid” automobile … a motorcycle … or a bike;
2. Move your domicile to a place near your work and near a bus stop so you have options to walk, ride a bike or take the bus.
Capitalism is driven by the capacity of Wall Street to create artificial needs through creative marketing – even to the point of portraying us as “losers” if we fail to use the right products or services. Beat the System! Define your own needs and let your own highest standards prevail!
Be circumspect about which “System” you’re fighting, about who or what the real “demons” may be, and about your strategy for advancement. If we get these elements on track, the “Greater System” will not seem so formidable … AND it will be unable to deny us our “due”. Quartermaster
