Gas Prices, Inflation, & Cause/Effect

"Inflation is as violent as a mugger, as frightening as an armed robber, and as deadly as a hit man" - Ronald Reagan

As we can all see, gas prices have skyrocketed; a Whopper from Burger King (even without cheese) now costs thirteen bucks...and yet I still had the audacity to give a homeless man (see my other article about Vincent The Homeless Man) a twenty-dollar bill.

I decided to take a rather haphazardously over-discussed topic that is on everyone's minds right now: inflation, school shootings, and (yes, this is where it gets interesting) why we are succumbing to a failure as a society. First, a fun quote.

"A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within. When society breed malintent, we see nothing but bad" - William Durant

We are all thinking the same thing right now: how on earth did inflation (typically a 10-year-process) take us less than six months before everything fell abruptly apart? Simple: we are not in an inflationary period. Rather, we are in a world where panic ignites change, and change, suffice to say, is the scariest thing for the standard human being.

First, About Change

In an article by Potential.com, there is a fascinating psychology behind why change frightens us. Think back to anthropological roots: changes in weather were necessary to adjust to; heat would overwhelm cavemen (or cold, or dry, or wet) to the point where it became necessity to adjust to it. When we were still in the process of developing as a species, change ignites a common fear in all of us.

When change occurs, even in small amounts (but especially when it comes all at once), we naturally feel uncomfortable, and this is just how life is. When cats sense rain, they rest; when people sense rain, they stay inside...but because we have lives to live (and cats are not as cognitively wired as the human mind), it becomes commonplace to feel a necessary evil in change. In a recent article by the American Anthropological Association (ironically, the acronym is "AAA," which looks much like my college transcripts), the main reason why we fail to adapt to rapid changes is based on climate change.

Now, when we look back on this past couple of years, we have become hardwired to fear. 26 hurricanes hit American shores this past season, and that is a record high. Heat is on the rise. Planets are unaligned; Pluto disappeared (I think it was just sick of being so cold!). We see time and time again how uncomfortable we can feel simply based on factors such as these. But what about the present situation? We just overcame a two-year stunt, where roughly one million people suffered from COVID-19 deaths; we are witnessing gas prices soaring and food shortages; prescription medications remain out-of-stock for weeks.

But The Fear Will Kill Us

Now, if you ask me what is going on here, I have one point to make: this has happened before. Every epoch of human nature has been defined by a ten-year period of stunted growth. We all seem to think gas prices at $4.75 a gallon (thank God I own a hybrid) is a commonality, but think back to the recession of 2008.

Gas prices during the 2008 recession drastically increased to $4.00 per gallon, but then it dropped roughly one year later, back down to an average of $3.60 per gallon. This period took roughly two years to finalize, and this is my point here: we are thinking to ourselves quietly: "Oh no, gas prices have gone up so massively that we are never going to recover."

Well, in less than a year after the recession of 2008, prices dropped to $3.60 a gallon.

Then back down to roughly $2.75 by 2016.

As stated by Kayla Kay, "It's normal for gas prices to fluctuate. It's called supply and demand. If the demand exceeds the supply, prices go up. If supply exceeds the demand, prices go down." Now, if you are frightened about this present issue, and the ever-noticed changes in daily life, do yourself a favor and recall that every recession comes with these same barriers to entry in our day-to-day routines.

We are in yet another recession, and guess what?

This Is Normal!

I decided to focus on something more positive today: the fact that we are all in the same mindset, and it is said mindset that will either provision us for success, or cause yet another World War. We need to be a bit more considerate here. We are beginning to witness another horrible trend, which is price-gouging. Suffice to say, this is common, hence the increase in gas prices...recall that because the average income of a job is lower than ever, no s**t that gas stations will up their prices daily! They are receiving less income from travel because everyone was stuck inside for almost two years during the pandemic.

Rather, it is about human nature, and the evils that dwell when we feel change...

Things Will Get Better

Recall my discussion about the pandemic.

We witnessed a period where Lysol spray was out-of-stock, and food shortages swept the nation. When you really, really think about it, we are all lost in a cloud of chaos. We seem to be witnessing another disturbing trend: mass school shootings. This seems like something we definitely need to be worried about, and personally I will not get into a debate about such a touchy subject, but we only have ourselves to blame. When we sensationalize the media to focus only on the negatives, commonplace will replicate itself.

In a study by Jacklyn Diaz, it was found that there were roughly 27 school shootings in just this past year. Now, this causes problems. I cannot justify this with any real literature, nor do I want to get into a debate about this, so I will leave it at this: the more we see negativity, the more prone the human being will be to engage in violence.

Any angry child or teen will see the sensationalized function of immediate fame: when we mass market the media with these statistics, YouTube goes ahead and takes it up a notch. Next thing you know, there are more and more shootings, and I can estimate that almost all of them are based on shortages in mental health care. Again, this is such a touchy subject that I will not even begin to explain it, and I will leave it simply as, the media is to blame.

Change Is Coming...

And it will be monumental.

Gas prices will go down; school shootings will no longer be sensationalized by the media; things will get better. I decided this article for the 90 Day Content Challenge would encompass something a bit more positive, albeit, controversial. We all have a right to our opinions, our thoughts, our governances, and our beliefs. However, do not let fear consume you. When human nature fears, it is common to become angry.

I can insinuate the many changes we are witnessing here are going to take about a year or two to level out, if and only if we remain calm, collected, and (of course) considerate! If we continue to function on primitive mentalities, affected by change and overcome with anxiety, we will only falter further. Take a moment today to breathe, to relax, and to realize that every recession, every pandemic, and every period of hysteria comes to a close.

My Thoughts On This

I feel we need to begin to collect ourselves, calmly abiding by trust in nature. As Jurassic Park's new variation ( Steven Spielberg decided to jump on-board!) enters the hemisphere of theaters, do yourself a favor: go and watch it. Enjoy it. Enjoy life.

Take a moment to reflect on those epic words we all know and love by now, or at least those of us who were Millennials or older:

"Life will find a way."

Sorry, I have one more from the character: "Malcolm:"

"We not only lack dominion over nature; we are also subordinate to it..."

Engage In Change

When we feel we are suffering from massive changes, the cranium fills with chemicals called "corticoids." It is a natural response to stress. However, studies show that the more you exhaust this chemical supply, the more likely you are to have a stroke; to develop an anxiety disorder; to engage in road rage; to become angry at small things...

We are all suffering here, so take a breather today after you read this, and monumentally make one of two decisions for today, and which decision you choose will determine not only your own outlook, but the thorough butterfly effect of cause-and-effect: you can either say to yourself: "Things are going to get better, I just know it!" or: "This is bad, I am going to lose everything I love." Well, guess what? Many of us already did. During the pandemic, and though we are still in the midst of it, panic swept, but we found a vaccine.

This is an example of cause-and-effect: when we settle with the world as-is, we do not validate change for ourselves, thus facilitating danger to another. If you overreact to something, you may be prone to yell at the car that just cut you off.

Often, my friends, those individuals have guns, and are far more angry than you.

You Have A Choice

It is in the manner in which you behave.

Trust in human nature; trust in progress; trust that life will find a way, and we will settle back into a comfortable, lucid state. However, this is not to say we do not have the right to be a bit upset. That is absolutely natural, albeit, common.

Though this article may not fix your budget on gas (nor my own), or fear of catching the virus, realize that there is good coming to us - I just know it! And so should you. Feel something different today, as you wake up to this gloomy Wednesday morning:

"Life will find a way..."

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