"The Secret" is the latest upwardly mobile yupster and middle-aged homebody self-help sensation, a silly, oversimplified, and somewhat dangerous school of thinking that says anything that happens to you, good or bad, you've manifested with your thoughts, the energies that you transmit out into the world. (I've been seeing it all over L.A. lately. Shocking, I know.) Now, needless to say, "The Secret" is bullshit. It is a shameless, sloppy mixture of old self-help cliches and a flat-out abuse of some very powerful ideas that, if you're into that sort of thing, require a lifetime of study and thought to truly appreciate. But don't tell that to Oprah Winfrey, who has embraced "The Secret" in a major way. She's put its peddler, emotional breakdown survivor Rhonda Byrne, on her afternoon talkshow. Saturday Night Live satirized the episodes a couple weekends ago, suggesting, not unreasonably, that Oprah has finally lost her mind, and her good reputation. This article from Salon by Peter Birkenhead notes that with Oprah's endorsement, "The Secret" scam is pure venality:
Why "venality"? Because, with survivors of Auschwitz still alive, Oprah writes this about "The Secret" on her Web site, "the energy you put into the world -- both good and bad -- is exactly what comes back to you. This means you create the circumstances of your life with the choices you make every day." "Venality," because Oprah, in the age of AIDS, is advertising a book that says, "You cannot 'catch' anything unless you think you can, and thinking you can is inviting it to you with your thought." "Venality," because Oprah, from a studio within walking distance of Chicago's notorious Cabrini Green Projects, pitches a book that says, "The only reason any person does not have enough money is because they are blocking money from coming to them with their thoughts."
Maybe next Oprah should bring back on to her show the new Jesus Christ. Or Rio. Here's the Oprah-"Secret" YouTube mashup. Enjoy. I think...