The law of attraction

     The law of attraction states that if you want something badly enough, eventually the universe will give it to you. This is stupid for a number of reasons, but my personal issue with this law is that it assumes that you are the only person who wants things. What if you want something, but someone else wanted you not to have it? Or what if there’s only one thing and two people want it the same amount? I don’t know if I’m the only person who thinks this, but there’s something wrong with an ideology that presumes you are the only person with any legitimate power in the world.

      I don’t think the Law of attraction is real, if only because science experiments seem to yield consistent outcomes regardless of how much the surrounding scientists believe in the principles they’re studying. I assume most of the people who read this feel the same way. But in a way, I kind of want it to be real.

     In A Little Princess, when Ermengarde asks Sara if she believes her doll Emily really moves when she’s out of her playroom, Sara says, “Yes, at least I believe she can. At least I pretend I believe she can.” That’s my feeling on the Law of attraction. I don’t think it’s real, but it’s fun to believe in. It’s part of my “I have no power, but I can still change the world fantasy.” 

     But while the law of attraction gives one the illusion of power, it doesn’t really force someone to take responsibility. If you can’t prove it’s real, how can anyone prove you were responsible for something that happened? I could be wrong, but I think that if something gives you power, even imaginary power, without giving you any responsibility, that’s dangerous. A big problem I have with the world right now is that too many of us assume that people in power don’t have to take responsibility, when I think the point of having power structures is that the people in charge get lots of wealth and influence, in exchange for the rest of us holding them responsible for there actions. That way, we have less power overall, but they have to take responsibility for keeping society running. But that’s not happening.