Looking Back at the '80s (And Not Mistily Either)

Richie's continuing excavations turned up a piece I'd written for American Way, the in-flight magazine for American.  Called "Airheads are boring me."
With some editing for relevance, here's what I wrote:

I am now convinced that all forms of self-therapy should self-destruct.  I am against the insidious use of therapeutic jargon and the monumental selfishness of the '80s.  You can't open a magazine these days without seeing some article on getting out; letting go or finding your inner space.  The library and book store shelves sag with the weight of lighter-than-air volumes on self-help therapy.  The mental picture of Dr. Joyce Brothers and Leo Buscaglia, to name only two, roaring with merriment as they drag yet another sack  of royalties to the bank annoys me. 

Have income and leisure time increased to the point when the only amusement left is sitting around analyzing "the real me"?  Haven't the Yuppies, Buppies and Baby Boomers gotten enough of us interested in eating warm goat cheese on a leaf of radicchio after a ripping game of squash or BMW bragging?

A lot of people seem to be lolling around in their spandex running pants, sucking the ear piece of their Porsche sunglasses, moaning about something they call "my terrible childhood." 

What is this big deal about childhood?  After all for most of us, it's long gone.  So what if your mother didn't know about Perrier and your Dad didn't have a Nautilus machine?   Get over it!

It's well known that old people often live in the past and relate grade school stories because these are the brain cells that die off last.  I'm beginning to think that the "bad childhood-ers" are exhibiting early signs of Alzheimer's disease.

An author named Pryor wrote:  "They never taste who always drink; they always talk who never think."  Better to do something practical; to experience the ideas out in the world rather than huddling around the bonfire of your importance,  developing a talent for introspection that only the owner can appreciate.

And this is what the American Way editor wrote:  "Thank you for submitting your manuscript for consideration.  Although your entry was not selected, we enjoyed your article and appreciate your interest in the magazine."