Do we (I) learn?

Our history is changing, banks are collapsing, big decisions are being made in Congress but our lives for now, domestically, continue as "normal"...

I just saw a headline that said Vanessa Hudgens, at 18, is buying her first house in the Hills. I love that the economy is in the shithole but apparently the American people (and abroad) can afford to help sustain the extravagant livelihoods that have come from the man-made empire that is now High School Musical. In fact, all the celebrities seem to be doing just fine. It certainly is a strange dichotomy that Hollywood has created this parallel universe where, despite any and all earth-shattering things that are happening around us, actors get paid something as ludicrous as $20 million for doing a picture or when the cast of Friends was being paid $1 per episode. Somehow, that's the standard and we've been conditioned to not only believe in the normalcy of this but we literally, buy into it.

Then of course, what do I really know? I just stupidly and vainly, bought more clothes this weekend. Do we spend as a way to cope with the fact that we actually don't have money to spend? How does that make any sense? I don't know. Sometimes I think we are all just really stupid.

I've been feeling really skeptical lately.