Why is there so much Analysis
By Bob Branco
Have you ever looked deep into some of the analysis that government, commercial ads, and other services throw at us? Unless I fully understand the reasons for why there is so much analysis, I will stick to my position that society wants to complicate our lives unnecessarily. What else can I believe until I have more of an understanding about this topic?
Let me give you two examples of what I mean.
Last night, someone suggested that I call 211 in order to find out where my regional Lions Clubs are located. That’s a fair suggestion, because 211, like 411, has a lot of resources at its disposal. When the 211 operator answered the phone, I asked her to tell me where the closest Lions Club is to New Bedford, Massachusetts. Let’s use our imaginations a little bit before I give you the punch line. You would probably expect the operator to say a number of things, such as, “I can’t find any Lions Clubs in your area.” Or, “What is your ZIP code?” Or, “I’m sorry, but our computers are down.” Well, brace yourselves. When I asked her to help me find my regional Lions Club, she asked me if I was between 45 and 54 years old. I don’t deny that I am completely ignorant about some aspects of life, but can someone please explain what my search for a Lions Club has to do with whether I’m between the ages of 45 and 54? Unless I can figure out the connection, I will have to assume that if I were under the age of 45 or over the age of 54, the operator would refuse to help me.
Don’t worry. I asked the operator what my age has to do with giving me information about the Lions Club, and she couldn’t answer the question. She gave me the information, but again, why should you ask about my age in the first place if you don’t intend to use that as a condition for helping me? What if you and I were neighbors, and one day you stopped by my house to use the bathroom? Instead of giving you permission, I ask you if you were born in August. What does that have to do with anything?
For years, most of us have heard ads on radio and television about life insurance. Some of these ads preface their promotion by asking if you are between the ages of 46 and 87. I guess if you are within that age range, you get a deal on life insurance. I interpret this to mean that if you are over 87 years old, you are screwed! Who decided that 87 is the maximum age for getting a deal on life insurance? What is so terrible about being over 87 that this same deal can’t be offered to those people? Again, no one explains it.
Sometimes I feel that we analyze because we have to prove something to ourselves. It’s not necessary. Let’s all relax, be ourselves, and not become completely stressed out about how we should say something.
