"I need you"
Three magic words. They light up our brain, they grab our attention, they initiate action.
But they're being corrupted by the ease of reach and the desire by some organizations to grow at all costs.
I doesn't always mean a human. More and more, "I" means us, the corporation, the shareholders, the faceless. I is actually, "we," and you're not a part of that we.
NEED more and more means "want." We want you to do this, to buy this, to forward this, to write about this. We want it because it will give us more.
YOU doesn't mean you in particular. It actually means, "anyone." Anyone who can see this site or read this email or drive by our billboard. If you've got money or clout or attention to spare, sure, we want you.
Political fundraisers have turned this from an art to a science to an endless whine. So have short-term direct marketers with access to a keyboard and the free stamps of internet connection.
We used to have our ears open to anyone we loved or trusted whispering, "I need you." It's been overwhelmed lately, though, by selfish marketers shouting, "WE WANT ANYONE."
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