10/1/08- The Zogby Report

THE ZOGBY REPORT: Transformation of the American Dream - 10/1/08

John Zogby began his lecture by announcing the two main areas that he would cover in his hour’s stay: His book regarding message transformation and the election. Mr. Zogby summed up his book using three words: HOPE, CHANGE AND OPTIMISM. These particular words were used because his book focused on a variety of people earning all different salaries but how they were somehow all in the same situation. Whether they were a single mom trying to raise her kids and pay the mortgage or a husband struggling to support his family, they were all cases where each person was being paid significantly less than at their previous job. Each person also refused to give up their current lifestyles as a means to adjust to their new salary. Many of them chose to skip a days worth of meals if it meant keeping their BMW and their large home in an area that they can no longer afford. They all had one thing in common: their refusal to let go of the American dream. They wanted to hold on to what’s good and positive and still wanted to live a life with meaning and self-fulfillment. This is confusing to me because then I ask myself why make your family suffer when you could easily give up a few luxuries and be fine? WHY DON’T YOU JUST CHANGE YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE? Mr. Zogby used the phrase: “WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS, MAKE LEMONADE.” I agree with this saying, sometimes you just have to deal with what life gives you whether you like it or not. The next topic Mr. Zogby covered was the election. He informed us that 75% of Americans say that the U.S is in a crisis and 80% say that the U.S is heading in the wrong direction. He rated the president at a 20% and the congress at an embarrassing 9%. However, he also did include that locally the congress is favored but that quickly changes as soon as they begin work in Washington. Another interesting point that Mr. Zogby brought up was that he thought that Katrina was the main reason that drove all of the numbers down because it “didn’t work.” Lastly, he touched on the fact that this year’s election is transformational and no matter who is elected (McCain or Obama) the U.S will have a period of 6 months to a year of change. He referred to it as an “or else” election. This year we have a total of 132- 135 million voters, which is far larger than the previous years, for the simple reason that no one wants to be RESPONSIBLE for creating a loss generation in American politics.