American Psychosis

Here is a piece by Chris hedges concerning a society that cannot distinguish between reality and illusion. It is a wonderfully insightful look at the state of the USA in these desperate times.

The United States, locked in the kind of twilight disconnect that grips dying empires, is a country entranced by illusions. It spends its emotional and intellectual energy on the trivial and the absurd. It is captivated by the hollow stagecraft of celebrity culture as the walls crumble. This celebrity culture giddily licenses a dark voyeurism into other people’s humiliation, pain, weakness and betrayal. Day after day, one lurid saga after another, whether it is Michael Jackson, Britney Spears [or Miley Cyrus], enthralls the country … despite bank collapses, wars, mounting poverty or the criminality of its financial class.

It is the cult of self that is killing the United States. This cult has within it the classic traits of psychopaths: superficial charm, grandiosity and self-importance; a need for constant stimulation; a penchant for lying, deception and manipulation; and the incapacity for remorse or guilt. Michael Jackson, from his phony marriages to the portraits of himself dressed as royalty to his insatiable hunger for new toys to his questionable relationships with young boys, had all these qualities. And this is also the ethic promoted by corporations. It is the ethic of unfettered capitalism. It is the misguided belief that personal style and personal advancement, mistaken for individualism, are the same as democratic equality. It is the nationwide celebration of image over substance, of illusion over truth. And it is why investment bankers blink in confusion when questioned about the morality of the billions in profits they made by selling worthless toxic assets to investors.

www.adbusters.org...

reply to post by DrunkYogi


Empires have a life-cycle just like everything else. I certainly wouldn't resent a dying man for being unable to tell reality from illusion or be surprised by it, and I don't resent America for it either.

The bit about unfettered capitalism is wrong. We have a cronyist state. Corporations do not want unfettered capitalism. If that was actually what we had, they would actually have to compete with the little guys they make deals with the government to suppress via law and regulation. This is cronyism, not unfettered capitalism.

Maybe they meant unfettered consumerism? I can certainly see corporations promoting that ...

BlueMule
reply to post by DrunkYogi

 

Empires have a life-cycle just like everything else. I certainly wouldn't resent a dying man for being unable to tell reality from illusion or be surprised by it, and I don't resent America for it either.

edit on 30-12-2013 by BlueMule because: (no reason given)

I hope there are not many people with that attitude, it is defeatist to say the least! It would mean nothing has been learned from history.

Unless one is to assume we are mostly composed of psychopaths then he is mistaken,which indeed is the problem trying to read and say EVERYBODY IS... it don't work like that. Never has.
As to America it hasn't been done before,you can use history as a comparator but we are a chaotic gathering NOBODY knows what ,when ,how or why when it comes to predicting things like us.

I haven't been defeated ,just controlled and I'm anxious to see what the world looks like without it.

ketsuko
The bit about unfettered capitalism is wrong. We have a cronyist state. Corporations do not want unfettered capitalism. If that was actually what we had, they would actually have to compete with the little guys they make deals with the government to suppress via law and regulation. This is cronyism, not unfettered capitalism.

Maybe they meant unfettered consumerism? I can certainly see corporations promoting that ...

edit on 30-12-2013 by ketsuko because: (no reason given)

I think unfettered capitalism has led to cronyism. They are still happy to let the little men fight amongst themselves until there is one victor and then they come along and buy out or destroy the victor thereby consolidating more power and wealth.

DrunkYogi

BlueMule
reply to post by DrunkYogi

 

Empires have a life-cycle just like everything else. I certainly wouldn't resent a dying man for being unable to tell reality from illusion or be surprised by it, and I don't resent America for it either.

edit on 30-12-2013 by BlueMule because: (no reason given)

I hope there are not many people with that attitude, it is defeatist to say the least! It would mean nothing has been learned from history.

Telling a dying man that his inability to tell illusion from reality is a psychosis is not a way to help him die with dignity.

The problem most likely would be HIGHLY mitigated if we make it illegal for sociopaths to hold postions of ANY authority due to their illness.
Test them and boot them into care PERIOD. Just like pedophiles,in fact they are MUCH worse.The country isn't dying just changing we are seeing growing pains here.

DrunkYogi

BlueMule
reply to post by DrunkYogi

 

Empires have a life-cycle just like everything else. I certainly wouldn't resent a dying man for being unable to tell reality from illusion or be surprised by it, and I don't resent America for it either.

edit on 30-12-2013 by BlueMule because: (no reason given)

I hope there are not many people with that attitude, it is defeatist to say the least! It would mean nothing has been learned from history.

Nothing has because most schools don't properly teach it anymore.

BlueMule

DrunkYogi

BlueMule
reply to post by DrunkYogi

 

Empires have a life-cycle just like everything else. I certainly wouldn't resent a dying man for being unable to tell reality from illusion or be surprised by it, and I don't resent America for it either.

edit on 30-12-2013 by BlueMule because: (no reason given)

I hope there are not many people with that attitude, it is defeatist to say the least! It would mean nothing has been learned from history.

Telling a dying man that his inability to tell illusion from reality is a psychosis is not a way to help him die with dignity.

Honestly your analogy is completely off. A dying man may loose his marbles because of senility,age, various factors! There are many young, energetic, dynamic, loving, talented people in America. We are talking about a population, society, not a single individual.

reply to post by ketsuko


Nah, this has always been the case.

There are always few people within society who can intellectually grasp macro-social cycles, AND the details that bring about each shift.

There is a reason it's all cyclic, and always has been... because we don't learn, on the whole.

The decline of education is just a part of this cycle.

DrunkYogi

ketsuko
The bit about unfettered capitalism is wrong. We have a cronyist state. Corporations do not want unfettered capitalism. If that was actually what we had, they would actually have to compete with the little guys they make deals with the government to suppress via law and regulation. This is cronyism, not unfettered capitalism.

Maybe they meant unfettered consumerism? I can certainly see corporations promoting that ...

edit on 30-12-2013 by ketsuko because: (no reason given)

I think unfettered capitalism has led to cronyism. They are still happy to let the little men fight amongst themselves until there is one victor and then they come along and buy out or destroy the victor thereby consolidating more power and wealth.

No unfettered capitalism is not the problem. The problem is the ethical deficit we have in our populace. We stopped wanting to win on our merits and started being OK with cheating and gaming the system. We stopped demanding ethical leaders and lawmakers and started being OK with scoundrels in office who were only too willing to make deals for bribes and money.

Corporations can only game the system if the people who make the system are willing to play along. The people who make the system are willing to play because we stopped demanding the very best and most honest in our leadership. Look how many of us shrug and expect our politicians to lie to us.

The problem is an ethical and moral decay in the people. It bleeds into both the world of business and the world of politics.

A free people can only be a moral and ethical people, and we are neither. Thus, we are now in the process of becoming less free.

cavtrooper7
The problem most likely would be HIGHLY mitigated if we make it illegal for sociopaths to hold postions of ANY authority due to their illness.
Test them and boot them into care PERIOD. Just like pedophiles,in fact they are MUCH worse.The country isn't dying just changing we are seeing growing pains here.

Changing in to what tho? that is the problem.

reply to post by webedoomed


Mainly because most people are stupid enough to think that everything they think of is new and never been thought of before. They don't bother to check and see if that's the truth. They also think that just because their technologies are more advanced that they must, ergo, also be more evolved.

Human nature has not changed one iota since we were Bronze Age shephards despite the trappings of our lives. An iPad does not make you evolved.

DrunkYogi

BlueMule

DrunkYogi

BlueMule
reply to post by DrunkYogi

 

Empires have a life-cycle just like everything else. I certainly wouldn't resent a dying man for being unable to tell reality from illusion or be surprised by it, and I don't resent America for it either.

edit on 30-12-2013 by BlueMule because: (no reason given)

I hope there are not many people with that attitude, it is defeatist to say the least! It would mean nothing has been learned from history.

Telling a dying man that his inability to tell illusion from reality is a psychosis is not a way to help him die with dignity.

Honestly your analogy is completely off.

"The United States, locked in the kind of twilight disconnect that grips dying empires, is a country entranced by illusions."

Empires are born and they die. Like dying people, they experience a twilight disconnect. Your own OP says it.

You seem to want to say to America, be ashamed of your disconnect -snap out of it America- and live forever.

But Empires don't live forever.

Don't judge America. Don't judge a dying man either. Give them their dignity and help them to control their fear as they die.

ketsuko

DrunkYogi

ketsuko
The bit about unfettered capitalism is wrong. We have a cronyist state. Corporations do not want unfettered capitalism. If that was actually what we had, they would actually have to compete with the little guys they make deals with the government to suppress via law and regulation. This is cronyism, not unfettered capitalism.

Maybe they meant unfettered consumerism? I can certainly see corporations promoting that ...

edit on 30-12-2013 by ketsuko because: (no reason given)

I think unfettered capitalism has led to cronyism. They are still happy to let the little men fight amongst themselves until there is one victor and then they come along and buy out or destroy the victor thereby consolidating more power and wealth.

No unfettered capitalism is not the problem. The problem is the ethical deficit we have in our populace. We stopped wanting to win on our merits and started being OK with cheating and gaming the system. We stopped demanding ethical leaders and lawmakers and started being OK with scoundrels in office who were only too willing to make deals for bribes and money.

Corporations can only game the system if the people who make the system are willing to play along. The people who make the system are willing to play because we stopped demanding the very best and most honest in our leadership. Look how many of us shrug and expect our politicians to lie to us.

The problem is an ethical and moral decay in the people. It bleeds into both the world of business and the world of politics.

A free people can only be a moral and ethical people, and we are neither. Thus, we are now in the process of becoming less free.

You pretty much described the outcome of unfettered capitalism.

reply to post by DrunkYogi


So, you're claiming that unfettered capitalism causes moral decay? Based on what argument?

Moral decay is not caused by capitalism, unfettered or otherwise. It is caused by a loss of faith.

reply to post by ketsuko


Please specify, faith in what or whom?

BlueMule

DrunkYogi

BlueMule

DrunkYogi

BlueMule
reply to post by DrunkYogi

 

Empires have a life-cycle just like everything else. I certainly wouldn't resent a dying man for being unable to tell reality from illusion or be surprised by it, and I don't resent America for it either.

edit on 30-12-2013 by BlueMule because: (no reason given)

I hope there are not many people with that attitude, it is defeatist to say the least! It would mean nothing has been learned from history.

Telling a dying man that his inability to tell illusion from reality is a psychosis is not a way to help him die with dignity.

Honestly your analogy is completely off.

"The United States, locked in the kind of twilight disconnect that grips dying empires, is a country entranced by illusions."

Empires are born and they die. Like dying people, they experience a twilight disconnect. Your own OP says it.

You seem to want to say to America, be ashamed of your disconnect -snap out of it America- and live forever.

But Empires don't live forever.

Don't judge America. Don't judge a dying man either. Give them their dignity and help them with their fear as they die.

edit on 30-12-2013 by BlueMule because: (no reason given)

Believe me friend, i like Americans, i've got American relatives. I live in Britain and the same thing will happen here if it isn't stopped dead in it's tracks in America. You say help them with their fear as they die! So you sit back and let them win? You need to learn from history and make a new reality. In this reality they fear, and they die, otherwise we all go down. If America goes down without a fight then i am afraid that the whole world will go with it.

ketsuko
reply to post by DrunkYogi

 

So, you're claiming that unfettered capitalism causes moral decay? Based on what argument?

Moral decay is not caused by capitalism, unfettered or otherwise. It is caused by a loss of faith.

A loss of faith and the love of money.