OYSTERS

The World is My Oyster

by Alex Hutchins

So, let’s start by explaining what that phrase means, shall we?

THE WORLD IS AN (ONE'S) OYSTER

"If you have a lot of money, you can have anything you want. The proverb first appears in Shakespeare's play 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' (1600).'Falstaff: I will not lend thee a penny. Pistol: Why, then, the world's mine oyster, Which I with sword will open.' Act II, Scene II." From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" (1996) by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996).

Merry Wives of Windsor

A second reference says the phrase means: "All the pleasures and opportunities of life are open to someone because he is young, rich, handsome, successful, etc. Shakespeare invented or popularized this expression." From "Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins" by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on File, New York, 1997).

So, the world is yours for the taking!

Right?

Well, “yes” and “no.”

If you are wealthy and there are no restrictions on your wealth, then oysters come to you by default.  This is true regardless of geographic location or you are only limited by the freedom that you have or do not have.  For instance, you are going to have more oysters in America than in Russia; or, more oysters in Mexico than you would have in Iran.

Mobility and health are factors too. 

While this oyster craze spread from Great Brittan to America where it remained until just recently, oysters can be easily be found more in other parts of the world these days.

Russia

China has the fastest growing economy in the world today and is second only in size to America but will soon be larger than America by 2020 or sooner – that is 8 years or less.  While the middle class in America is dwindling, the middle class is China is growing and the quest for oysters is very apparent.

OPEC Oil Countries (all Middle East countries except for Venezuela) have been oyster hunting for years thanks to the flow of US dollars into their economies.  But Americans should not just be angry at themselves over their obsessive compulsion to purchase gasoline, but should be equally angry at their Government leaders and Business LEADERS for not providing economic substitutes thereby making oyster hunting possible.

Iran Shopping Mall

What is interesting but pathetic here is the fact that while some search for oysters, the ability to search for those oysters came from people who searched and found escapism from the realities of life with which they no longer want to compete.

Americans (young and old) have escaped into a new reality of laziness and apathy where they lose focus and self-esteem, along with self-confidence and self-motivation.  Why else would networks air such silly shows on television?

Americans have escaped by opting out of taking responsibility for their actions whether it is at home, in school, at work, or on the highway.  Can you blame them since our role models are our Congressmen and Senators?

Go ask Alice . . .

Americans have escaped into a new reality of drugs, alcohol, sex, and video games in which they find their superficial oysters.  Why else are the Mexican Drug Cartels able to draw in so much revenue?

Ever since the “human race” has populated our world, those who want oysters have always been able to acquire the means to do so from those who did not want oyster or did not realize that they could possess oysters too. 

Shakespeare

The brilliance and the genius of Shakespeare is the fact that he understood the complicated simplicity of how money, power, and greed can so easily and so quickly can move from one country to the next, by providing channels of escapism to a majority of the people so that they no longer care about acquiring oysters.