My recent (rather long) trip across America, from the Pacific Northwest to the South to the Heartland to the East was underscored by a consistent theme: America is an extremely fragile country. Despite the regular hubris and arrogance shown by its leaders, the country is full of people concerned about their health, security, neighbors, co-workers, mental well-being, etc.
After some weeks on the road, I learned to be careful about what I said to people, since there was no telling what would set them off.
In part, yes, it is a Culture of Fear, but I think there are deeper, more complex matters at work.
Sure, you’ll hear a lot of bravado about the good ole’ US of A, but when it comes to people’s personal lives, I think there are whole reams of issues related to self-image, insecurity, identity, and so on. Imagine a turtle - a soft, weak creature that lives inside a heavily fortified shell.
The American language is full of euphemisms, from the PC dialect to all sorts of new euphemistic adjectives to describe people, created out of fear that the original descriptive might hurt someone’s feelings.
The TV ads and other media also do a great job at making people feel insecure. It might sound crass, but deep down I think that’s all about getting people to buy things.
When the government issues its orange warnings, it’s all about sending people into a fetal-position so they’ll go along with the government’s scheme of the hour.
Then there’s the issue of personal blame. It seems everything is someone else’s fault. Sue that bastard. Blame that country. And so on. What happened to a sense of personal responsibility?
Take all of this and mix in the Gotta Be Me philosophy (which has been around for a long time), and you get bizarre offspring like creative math and Me-o-Meters.
Now that I think of it, it’s little wonder organized religion and conservative ideology have become so popular in recent years. They provide a sound, steady, and stable alternative to the madness of mainstream American culture. Anyone who grew up in America knows how hard it is to navigate the tricky waters of the culture without a solid foundation, family support, financial means, etc.
Yes, people do make it through the muck and come out well adjusted. But I see it as a personal struggle, with one person at a time going through a kind of a weird boot camp.
During my travels, I did meet a number of very solid, outstanding people, all over the place. In fact, the older folks seemed to be the most solid, on average. But I left with some concern about the country’s future and seriously started to wonder if we might be seeing the beginning of the end of the American era. Because a country’s backbone is its people. And when the quality of the people comes into such serious question, you have to wonder about the future.
