Briefly

As I was joking around with the employees of a restaurant just now, I noticed a woman off to the side who was watching but trying not to be conspicuous. She finally came over and spoke. “Excuse me,” she started, apparently unsure how to ask her question. “Are you someone on TV? You seem like an entertainer I’ve seen somewhere, but I can’t figure out who you are.” After I laughed and assured her that it has been years since I’ve been on television for anything, she seemed a bit sheepish. She and her daughter are on their way from Ohio to Orange Beach, Ala., for a vacation — and she was certain she had run across a vacationing celebrity. I found it hilarious.

Driving a car is terrifying if you allow yourself to be aware of all the things that can go wrong. I just made a simple right turn — one which seemed quite safe — and it was only afterward that I realized I had not had the right of way and that an oncoming car almost hit me. I was completely at fault. If there had been an accident, I would definitely have been the one to blame. No matter how careful you attempt to be, you’re going to make such mistakes. And you have even less control over the mistakes which others make. I suspect the only way we all allow ourselves to keep doing this dangerous thing is by choosing to remain in denial about our own very human fallibility. Driving is the most dangerous thing we do every day, even though we rarely allow ourselves to realize how much danger we’re in.

When I saw the headline, I assumed it was satire, but I quickly realized that somebody really was dumb enough to be confused about this: “University of Minnesota digs into why people with generous unemployment benefits take longer to find work.” That was a headline in the Minneapolis Star-Tribute last weekend. Whoever could take this question seriously doesn’t understand human nature. The article says, “…[W]hen people are offered more generous unemployment benefits — such as a longer time horizon and higher payments — they take longer to find new jobs.” Well, duh. Is anybody surprised by this? The researcher who led the study says she sees no evidence that it’s because people are slackers, but she doesn’t understand human nature. If somebody is paying you while you’re unemployed, your incentive to look hard for a job is lower and you can be pickier about which job to accept. You can turn your nose up at bad jobs. It’s not that I don’t have sympathy for people who are struggling to find work. I was there just five years ago. But I do understand human nature. When you’re broke and the wolf is banging at your door, you’re willing to take anything.