Skip to content

Sick and Tired

2017-05-05 · letter vlog · Hank · 3:59 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Economics (also: US politics & society) · mode: Personal essay

On his birthday, discouraged by the House health care bill and the fight against net neutrality, Hank calls his representatives and, inspired by John's thumbs-up video, thanks call-takers; he argues via his 'appreciation deficit theory' that money compensates but does not appreciate, and that non-transactional appreciation matters.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Birthday, the mystery boxes, and discouragement over the House health care bill and net neutrality

  • ★ It is Hank's birthday. — 00:00:00
  • ★ Hank tells everyone he also does not know what is in the boxes and asks John what is in the box. (playful) — 00:00:00
  • ★★★ Hank is bummed that the House pushed through a totally unstudied, probably unhelpful health care bill; it has a way to go and the Senate will have its say. (hedged) — 00:00:00
  • ★★★ Hank is discouraged that some people are fighting for internet providers like Comcast, sarcastically 'those underdogs', to control what goes through their pipes, at what speed and price. (hedged) — 00:00:28

00:00:40 — Calling representatives with 5 Calls; John's thumbs up applied to call-takers

  • ★★ Hank has been phoning his representatives and others in government; it is easy once you get going, and 5 Calls gives him the number and a script to read. — 00:00:40
  • ★★ Calling, Hank has thought about John's 'Life-Changing Magic of Thumbs Up' video, since call-takers hearing from many sick and tired people may not be having the best days. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ Hank reads the runner's thumbs up as a small break from the norm that says 'I see you and I think you're doing a positive thing'. — 00:01:13

00:01:32 — Thanking call-takers; the appreciation deficit theory: money compensates, it does not appreciate

  • ★★★ Hank now ends every call thanking the person for their work and wishing them a lovely day, and feels much better, less like he is imposing on them. — 00:01:32

  • ★★★ Hank states his 'appreciation deficit theory': by making all transactions quantifiable in money, we have lost the sense that unmeasured value can be transferred. — 00:01:45 · Appreciation deficit theory

    “my appreciation deficit theory”

  • ★★★ Hank says workers such as garbage collectors and sewage-plant staff are compensated, not appreciated, by money: pay trades time and skill, while appreciation is more human and less transactional. (hedged) — 00:02:02

  • ★★ Hank thinks we forgot about appreciation because we assume economics takes care of it. (hedged) — 00:02:25
  • ★★ Hank congratulates John on working hard on his run and getting his first half marathon. — 00:02:31
  • ★★★ Hank says it is nice to break a little out of the meaningless norms of daily exchanges (grocery-line talk, thank yous, have-a-nice-days) to show real gratitude and real good wishes. — 00:02:31

00:03:00 — Small ways to break the norm, the value of others' work, non-transactional value; sign-off

  • ★★ Hank warns the line is fine, since overdoing it marks you as a weirdo, so find a small way, like a double thumbs up. (playful) — 00:03:00
  • ★★★ Hank says every interaction is a chance to remember how much we benefit from others' work and skill; meditating on it makes him feel better and less overwhelmed by the state of affairs. — 00:03:13
  • ★★★ Hank says non-transactional, non-economically measured value abounds and he wants more of it: humans need money but also to know their work matters and is appreciated. — 00:03:38

In the description and comments

  • ★ In the description Hank says he was getting over a cold, felt his mind at half speed, and edited the video non-linearly. — video description
  • ★★★ Hank worries that more and more labor is moved out of sight: where he once talked to a person to buy a USB cable, he now clicks on Amazon while unseen workers deliver it; maybe economically good, but not good for human satisfaction and happiness. — video description · Amazon

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Appreciation deficit theory

Also: Organizations: 5 Calls · Comcast · United States House of Representatives · United States Senate

Concepts: gratitude · Half marathon · internet service provider · money · social norm

Policies: American Health Care Act · Net neutrality

Only in the description or credits: Amazon

Replies to

← Previous: The Life Changing Magic of Thumbs Up · Next → Your Neighborhood, Your Life Expectancy