Summary

The author, Carlo Zeno, humorously reflects on the prevalence of disillusionment in society, noting his dominance in the 'disillusionment' tag on Medium and critiquing the overemphasis on positive thinking in the face of economic and societal challenges.

Abstract

Carlo Zeno humorously points out that he is a leading voice in the 'disillusionment' tag on Medium, with six out of the top seven trending stories under this tag authored by him. He suggests that as the global economic situation worsens, his work will become increasingly relevant and sought after. Zeno criticizes the current societal obsession with positive thinking, which he believes ignores the realities of economic decline, job insecurity, housing market issues, rising debt, geopolitical tensions, and climate change. He contrasts the modern appetite for optimistic content with the works of classic authors like Balzac and Steinbeck, who wrote about the harsh truths of their times. Zeno anticipates skepticism but invites readers to reflect on the situation and offers his writings as a counterbalance to excessive positivity.

Opinions

The author believes that society is in a state of widespread disillusionment, which is not adequately reflected in the popular content on Medium.
He is critical of the overemphasis on positive thinking and self-help narratives, such as The Law of Attraction, considering them to be unrealistic and out of touch with current economic and social realities.
Zeno suggests that readers are in denial about the severity of the world's issues and are more interested in maintaining illusions than facing hard truths.
He implies that classic literature, which often dealt with themes of disillusionment and hardship, would not be well-received in today's climate of seeking optimism.
The author anticipates that his work will gain more recognition as people become more disillusioned with their circumstances.
He acknowledges the potential for his perspective to be seen as exaggerated or overly negative but defends it as a necessary balance to the prevailing positive attitude.

#Disillusionment

Success Comes In All Shapes And Sizes

Top trending in all the wrong places

I discovered something remarkable today. When you do a search of “disillusionment” on Medium, six of the first seven top trending stories are under my name. I mean I own this tag. Take a look below, which shows the first three.

If and when the crap economy catches up to Medium users to the point that the search “disillusionment” becomes the number one search due to the inevitable fact that the entire planet will be feeling disillusioned, I will be a rich man.

At the moment, I’m way ahead of my time, and too many users still think we are living in booming times where things like The Law Of Attraction and The Promise Of Success seem actually achievable. And I’ve got three Golden Gate Bridges in my backyard I’d like to sell you.

As if the dollar wasn’t tanking and jobs weren’t paying less and the housing market wasn’t in decline and debt wasn’t rising and the two major superpowers weren’t in some sick gridlock game of Chicken and climate change was actually a big beautiful rainbow that lies ahead!

Yes, we are swimming in disillusionment. You just don’t know it yet. It’s the air we breathe. It’s everywhere. I know, I know, nobody likes bad news. But you’ll thank me later for it. We all need to accept the fact that we are living in Hell.

If Balzac were alive today, his famous Lost Illusions wouldn’t sell on Medium. Tough luck, Balzy. Better luck next life. Our age loves illusions. Pipe dreams. Scams. Go die in a ditch, Honore. Just piss off.

As for Madam Bovary or Anna Karenina? Don’t make me laugh.

John Steinbeck did not title his famous novel about the Depression Era of the 1930s the Grapes of Attraction.

When Kurt Vonnegut titled his famous satirical novel about a businessman who slowly went insane, the Breakfast of Champions, he meant it as a joke.

As for Tennessee Williams, Flannery O’Connor, Anton Chekov, James Baldwin? Just get those sour grape eating pessimists out of our faces!

We want ascending listicles, manifestos, odes to joy, Law of Attraction copycats, 7 Secret Steps To Orgiastic Success rip offs. Give us optimism or give us death.

Go ask any alcoholic. They all want to hear that their next drink is going to be the drink that changes their life, that will be different, that will taste so good. Oh, and the feeling! None of them want to hear that there is no future in another drink. Nobody wants to face sobriety.

So before you take it out on the messenger, just pause and reflect. That’s all I ask. And after you read all of the top trending stories under the disillusionment tag, and gain some real insight into the gravity of the situation we all find ourselves in, then you can come back and thank me for it. In the meantime I will patiently look forward to your claps, comments, subscriptions, and follows.

And lastly, if I am exaggerating, or as my grotesquely optimistic step-father used to tell me, catastrophizing, then so are all of the positive attitude fanatics. I’m simply here to balance things out. Nothing is wasted. I hope you will find some use.

So be sure to search “disillusionment” and read the top 7 hot trending items, six of which are authored by Yours Truly!

Shout out to Franco Amati for having the vision, courage, and catastrophizing foresight to publish at least three of my poems that fall under the “disillusionment” tag. And, of course, shout out to Muddyum for providing a platform for satire and having the stomach to publish bearers of bad news.

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