Click this link to improve your life!

Congratulations!

You clicked through to see how you – yes, you – can have a better life.

Unfortunately for you, this better life is not going to include magical sums of money, instant fame, or any of the material things you desire.

 

So, what is this great and powerful way to a better life?

Reading comprehension and critical thought!

I’m sorry, does that sound hard? Well, no one said getting everything you want in life is easy. It takes hard work to get where you really want in life. Or, at the very least making the world a less scary place.

What does this include? Well, first off, you don’t believe everything someone says on TikTok (or your favorite short-form video service). Because a lot of the people doing those videos aren’t exactly presenting you with all the information you need to know.

Then, when you go to research their claim, please take the time to read the entire story and not the clickbait headline. Headlines are written to draw your attention to read the story – not tell you the entire story. Lord knows I wrote a ton of headlines in my day that were there just to grab your attention, whether they were puns, plays on words, or big fancy graphic displays.

Why do I bring this up?

People got themselves in a panic because someone on TikTok read a clickbait headline that said Knott’s Berry Farm was going to close permanently after Halloween Haunt this year.

Now, let’s ponder how ridiculous that statement is without wading into the details.

First off, Knott’s is the most important park in the newly minted Cedar Fair/Six Flags merger (now under the name Six Flags). It’s one of the only parks in the group that is open year-round, has the most history (and fans that are dedicated to that history), and comes with its own brand name food empire.

Second, the company just invested in renovating its hotel. It just opened a newly renovated Camp Snoopy (another IP that is helping them rake in money). Another renovated area just reopened last year, and one of their flagship roller coasters in once-again (after some delays) being updated.

Lastly (and maybe should’ve been a big clue), they just started selling season passes for 2025 last week.

The click-baiting headline in question (it won’t get a link here), said that Knott’s would close permanently. Once you got about five paragraphs (and two or three ads) down, you found out that, no the park is not closing. But, in fact, one of the mazes that they offer during Halloween Haunt would be closing after this year. Which. Happens. All. The. Time. They change up mazes and reimagine their Haunt offerings every year. It was just time for this particular maze (Wax Works) to be retired.

But the fact that this happened on the heels of what’s happening in our country felt relevant beyond just an amusement park blog.

You see, there’s this guy running for president (again, sigh) who says whatever he wants whenever he wants, no matter how absolutely wrong he is. And he does it over and over and over and over and over and… you get the picture. He spews each and every one of these falsehoods with such conviction or repetition that some people just believe it.

It’s not just him, either - it’s the people he’s surrounded himself with. His running mate, his staff, his sycophants. The all just say what they want no matter if it’s true or not. Even when confronted with provable facts, they just shrug and say it was an exaggeration or partial truth and keep going forward.

When his former opponent did that, he called him old and feeble – not fit for office. How does that work when the shoe is on the other foot?

It’s why we’re seeing more and more Republican centrists coming forward against him (they’re all RINO’s to him, I would guess). They’re tired of being lied to all the time. They’re tired of the anger and name-calling. And, I bet, they’re tired of losing for him, and only him. The number one priority (spoken or not) is to keep him from being even more convicted and out of jail. All that other stuff is there to make the sycophants happy.

In the end, it’s all part of the sales pitch – that’s what he is, after all, a salesman. Yes “real estate mogul,” but boil it down, and it’s just another sales job. Keep people on the hook as long as you can until you tire them out and they buy something – anything – from you. Because if you tell people that this thing is the “greatest” ever and “you can’t live without it,” there will eventually be enough people believing it that more people will buy it and so on and so on.

Of course, that’s just my sales pitch. Only mine comes with no price tag – it’s free! Make your life better through the power of reading comprehension and critical thinking. Or don’t – that’s also free. But don’t get upset when others around you correct your mistakes and question your sources. After all, they were free to make their own choice as well.