Positive thinking is part of the American ethos. We spend millions of dollars and countless hours motivating employees and students to focus on success. But author and activist Barbara Ehrenreich says our inability to even consider failure has contributed directly to our economic woes. She joins Kojo to explore the potential dangers of looking on the bright side.
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2009-11-30/danger-looking-bright-side
The Danger of "Looking on the Bright Side"
Listen Monday, Nov. 30, 2009 at 12:06 p.m. in Economy, Education, History, Leisure & Lifestyle, Media, Opinion, Politics, Society
CD or 
TRANSCRIPT of this program.
Guests
Barbara Ehrenreich
Author, "Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America."
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Comments
I want to thank Ms. Ehrenreich for her message that as individuals we need to interpret situations with objectivity and fact finding and not to swallow what were told without thinking about it first. I find it scary how many people are willing to disengage their brains in order to believe the “bright side” propaganda so they can just feel good. Scarier still is the viewpoint that a person is un-American if they don’t buy the pabulum politicians try to pass off as truth. We’ve seen where that can lead.