Seth Godin seems to be forgetting the past. He claims that dissatisfaction is "a trend that is accelerating through every market and community on Earth." in his recent post:
Seth's Blog: The culture of dissatisfaction
Sorry Seth, I'm not believing that the good old days were any better than now in this regard. The culture for as long as I've been alive (and apparently even before then) has been dissatisfied. How about some signposts you ask?
- "I can't get no..." - The Rolling Stones
- "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take anymore" - Network
- "Who's afraid of Virginia Wolfe" - Edward Albee
- Little things like tearing down the Berlin Wall, throwing tea in miscellaneous harbors and the effective use of the guittotine in the French Revolution.
Given this sort of precedence and innumerable 1950's/1960's marketing critiques in vintage Mad Magazine I find it hard to believe that dissatisfaction is an "accelerating" trend. Or that Las Vegas is the most visible sign of it. Further, I'm not so certain that "marketing" is powerful enough to create such a culture. Certainly it can contribute, but dissatisfaction is not something you can create with billboards. And finally, Seth, if it is truly a "fact that we're unhappy all the time", take a break and take a few deep breaths. You have a lot to be thankful for.
