amnesia n.

A loss of memory, especially one brought on by some distressing or shocking experience.

Collective amnesia adj./n.

Selective loss of national memory that inevitably precedes a national crisis identical to its predecessor (except, perhaps, for the color of the party dress and the time it takes to put it on).

Indicators of a delusion:

We appear to be a society of amnesiacs. There is no other explanation for the collective shock that preceded our current state of affairs. How could we be surprised in light of the last 40 years?

In the late ’60s, we were at the height of an incredibly expensive war. We were stunned by the degree to which the country we invaded did not want our help. We began to withdraw on the heels of a recession. There was an oil crisis and gas prices soared.

At that time, we were a nation filled with huge gas-guzzling cars. Running around with our hair on fire, we traded our Fleetwood station wagons for Toyotas and began talking about lessening our reliance on oil. American automakers tanked. A stock market crash quickly followed.

In the ’80s, we elected supply-side economics advocating reduced tax rates, so people could keep more of what they earned. The theory was that lower tax rates would induce people to work harder, which would lead to more saving and investment, resulting in more production and stimulating overall economic growth. We spent and spent. To hell with conservation; gas prices had dropped.

By the late ’80s, the real estate market became highly inflated. Financial institutions imprudently loaned money to those who could not afford the homes they bought. Brokers, who got very rich, sold unregulated financial instruments based on those loans.

The real estate market crashed. The financial institutions crashed. Congress sought to change regulatory rules and bailed them out. We all sucked a gun on that one.

In the last decade, we elected supply-

side economics. We began an incredibly expensive war and were stunned by the degree to which those we invaded did not want our help. We began to withdraw on the heels of a recession. Gas prices soared. Running around with our hair on fire, we traded in our Ford Explorers for Toyotas.

The real estate market became highly inflated. Financial institutions imprudently loaned money to those who could not afford the homes they bought. Brokers sold unregulated financial instruments based on those loans.

The real estate market crashed. The financial institutions crashed. Congress sought to change regulatory rules and bailed them out. We all sucked a gun on that one.

A friend of ours, a financial adviser, recently imparted the best way to tell if the financial markets are about to crash: Those involved in the market begin illustrating why this time is different to both themselves and we, the public, who insist on remaining deluded.

The patient expresses an idea or belief with unusual persistence or force.

Features:

There is a quality of centrality: No matter how unlikely it is that these strange things are happening to him, the patient accepts them relatively unquestioningly.

It is characterized by the presence of delusions to which the patient clings with extraordinary tenacity.

The delusions are logically constructed and internally consistent.

“We have met the enemy and he is us.”

The patient experiences a heightened sense of self-reference.

Now replace “patient” with “government” or “electorate.”

When I feel like blaming someone else, I must remember that I live in a democracy. No one is doing anything to me that I don’t allow.

>Walt Kelly, creator of the

“Pogo” comic strip