Stephan: I do not think this essay is the total answer to what has gone off the rails in the United States and left us, except militarily, a second tier nation, but I am publishing it, because I am happy to see that finally a conversation is starting about why we are in this sorry state.
What I find particularly disheartening is that while the White terrorist peasants are facing at least some measure of justice, nothing is being done about the MAGAt aristocracy. Why at the very least haven't Bill Barr and James Eastman been disbarred? Why didn't Merrick Garland not immediately act on the House committee's subpoena prosecutions? Why is there no investigation as to why the FBI disregarded the warning alarms about what was coming on 6th January? And on and on.
Here is the reality that I see. By almost any social outcome measure you like we, as a country, are second rate because we have made short-term profit and greed the only social priorities we honor. Instead of being the "we" culture as defined in our founding documents, we have become an every person for themself "I" culture. Instead of facing up to the racism that was baked into our founding, we continue to lie to ourselves about it. And finally, instead of absolutely separating church and state as the Founders intended, we have debased Jesus' teaching into a christofascist cult.
Credit: Facebook
Everyone has a pet theory or two about what has gone wrong in America. And by America I of course mean the United States of, discounting the other 34 countries of the Americas — which speaks to our exceptional self-centeredness, which might in fact be seen as one of the overarching reasons why the country has gone to pot. Not only do we harbor a fervent belief that we have nothing to learn from others, we barely comprehend that they exist.
With the Republican Party’s platform morphing from obstruction to fascism (e.g., CPAC is planning a spring fling in authoritarian Hungary), citizens losing their minds over wearing masks and talking up anything but a safe and free vaccine in a deadly pandemic that has taken more American lives than were lost in our Civil War (in an era before doctors could do much more than use a saw), and school board members facing violent threats for supporting basic inclusion and diversity efforts in public schools — for many, the concept of American […]
Mark Samuelson
on Saturday, November 27, 2021 at 3:15 am
“A May 2021 poll from the Survey Center on American Life revealed the number of American men who view themselves as having “no close friends” quintupled over the last 30 years, increasing from 3 percent in 1990 to 15 percent in 2021.
What’s more, just 15 percent of men consider themselves as having 10 or more close friends, a steep drop from 40 percent.. in 1990.
Although female friendships have also taken a hit over the years, their decline was less dramatic — 11 percent of women report having 10 or more close friends this year, down just 17 percent from 1990, and 10 percent say they have no close friends at all. “
The same survey in asking Americans if they’ve received emotional support from a friend in the past week had 21% of men responding yes, in contrast to 41% of women.
If we viewed human life with the same care and detachment we did for protecting native plants from the harms of invasive species – we’d see a trajectory of numbers like this and immediately SEE ALARM bells.
We’d correctly translate this as a crisis for a social species.
We’d think what are we doing to poor men and how can we help ASAP?
But we’re conditioned for a variety reasons that it’s taboo to think like this. As you say: it’s a competitive “I” based culture and if we’re competing with each other: what is in it for our own getting ahead in trying to lift someone else up? Especially if it’s socially and politically stigmatized to be associating caring about men?
Lori
on Saturday, November 27, 2021 at 8:42 am
Mark,
I really like the comment you posted. It’s intelligent, informing, and caring. We can all use our talents to empower others, through education, humor, beauty, and emotional support. Even if we make a small difference in just one life, we can begin to understand, that we have made a difference collectively.
Mark Samuelson
on Sunday, November 28, 2021 at 4:00 am
Thank you, Lori!
How rare to see such a genuinely encouraging comment reply especially to something of a heavy cultural quasi political critique in nature!
May God bless you!
Lori
on Saturday, November 27, 2021 at 7:46 am
Michael,
One word explains why, it’s called “evidence.” With Eastman, there is an actual document available, which would be called “evidence.” Simply repeating false things over and over, that there is actually no evidence for doesn’t make it true. Disinformation, is intentionally spreading false information that you know is not true. Misinformation, is spreading false information when you don’t really know if it’s true or not, but you’ve heard it enough times, that you think it is and repeat it. On Sesame Street, a television show that my grandchildren love watching, they play a game called “One of these things is not like the others”
Can you guess which thing just doesn’t belong? I hope this helps you, as WE are all responsible for what we say to others, and rendering to Caesar what is Caesar’s.
Albus Eddie
on Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 6:51 am
“While there is still time, while we enjoy what could be the final days of this little experiment in semi-representational democracy, let me put a few lesser theories forward, just for the record.” The author is being overly optimistic in his assessment of the government. What we really have is a non-representational Republic. The analysis focusing on lite beer while amusing, misses the point. What would be more direct would be to focus on the bipartisan conscious economic shifting of jobs to low age countries while simultaneously shift income upwards causing a hollowing out of the middle class, and under cutting unions. If we had any type of representational Republic these issues could be addressed. Instead we are fed distractions by a compliant media, while there is no accountability because the swamp protects its own.
“A May 2021 poll from the Survey Center on American Life revealed the number of American men who view themselves as having “no close friends” quintupled over the last 30 years, increasing from 3 percent in 1990 to 15 percent in 2021.
What’s more, just 15 percent of men consider themselves as having 10 or more close friends, a steep drop from 40 percent.. in 1990.
Although female friendships have also taken a hit over the years, their decline was less dramatic — 11 percent of women report having 10 or more close friends this year, down just 17 percent from 1990, and 10 percent say they have no close friends at all. “
The same survey in asking Americans if they’ve received emotional support from a friend in the past week had 21% of men responding yes, in contrast to 41% of women.
https://theweek.com/us/1001987/men-losing-close-friends
https://www.americansurveycenter.org/research/the-state-of-american-friendship-change-challenges-and-loss/
This story went without much notice.
If we viewed human life with the same care and detachment we did for protecting native plants from the harms of invasive species – we’d see a trajectory of numbers like this and immediately SEE ALARM bells.
We’d correctly translate this as a crisis for a social species.
We’d think what are we doing to poor men and how can we help ASAP?
But we’re conditioned for a variety reasons that it’s taboo to think like this. As you say: it’s a competitive “I” based culture and if we’re competing with each other: what is in it for our own getting ahead in trying to lift someone else up? Especially if it’s socially and politically stigmatized to be associating caring about men?
Mark,
I really like the comment you posted. It’s intelligent, informing, and caring. We can all use our talents to empower others, through education, humor, beauty, and emotional support. Even if we make a small difference in just one life, we can begin to understand, that we have made a difference collectively.
Thank you, Lori!
How rare to see such a genuinely encouraging comment reply especially to something of a heavy cultural quasi political critique in nature!
May God bless you!
Michael,
One word explains why, it’s called “evidence.” With Eastman, there is an actual document available, which would be called “evidence.” Simply repeating false things over and over, that there is actually no evidence for doesn’t make it true. Disinformation, is intentionally spreading false information that you know is not true. Misinformation, is spreading false information when you don’t really know if it’s true or not, but you’ve heard it enough times, that you think it is and repeat it. On Sesame Street, a television show that my grandchildren love watching, they play a game called “One of these things is not like the others”
Can you guess which thing just doesn’t belong? I hope this helps you, as WE are all responsible for what we say to others, and rendering to Caesar what is Caesar’s.
“While there is still time, while we enjoy what could be the final days of this little experiment in semi-representational democracy, let me put a few lesser theories forward, just for the record.”
The author is being overly optimistic in his assessment of the government. What we really have is a non-representational Republic.
The analysis focusing on lite beer while amusing, misses the point. What would be more direct would be to focus on the bipartisan conscious economic shifting of jobs to low age countries while simultaneously shift income upwards causing a hollowing out of the middle class, and under cutting unions.
If we had any type of representational Republic these issues could be addressed. Instead we are fed distractions by a compliant media, while there is no accountability because the swamp protects its own.