How does a nation, formerly considered by many as the leader of the western world, one day disintegrate into two warring camps and begin the slide into chaos the next day? The only logical answer is that America was not that “great” to begin with. The superstructure of America’s institutions appeared sound from the beginning but the foundation was rotten from the outset. That rotten foundation was greed, the seeking of self-destructive “pleasure,” and the pursuit of power. Americans immediately began making unconscious and self-destructive choices on how to behave and how to treat each other.
A sustainable human community must be built on a foundation of compassion and trust. “America not only lacks many programs that buffer workers from economic calamity–such as the right to housing or universal health care–it is also bereft of a national culture characterized by social solidarity and faith in government. About a third of Americans express trust in the government, unlike most Germans, Norwegians and Swiss. This is a longstanding historical trend and cannot be solely attributed to the current [2020] occupant of the White House.”[i]
For an example, how did the worship of Mammon in America influence our current experience? Corporate executives controlling the policies emerging from Congress have managed over time to create an economically privileged class owning and controlling much of the nation’s wealth. “Year by year, continuing into the present, through these policy changes explicit and subtle, American life was turned upside down–in a way that many people seemed not to realize. Pensions were gutted. The minimum wage was effectively slashed. Companies started spending much more money buying back their own stock than on research and development. Wall Street took over the management of companies. Antitrust enforcement largely disappeared. An app-guided, app-stiffed servant class was born.”[ii]
If we Americans continue making self-centered choices rather than community-centered choices, we will continue our slide into chaos.
________________
Supplemental Reading:
Chaos, The ABC’s of Simple Reality, Vol 1
Chaos Theory, The ABC’s of Simple Reality, Vol 1
#31 Slide into Chaos
[i] Desmond, Matthew. “Milwaukee, Wisconsin.” The New York Times Magazine. May 27, 2020, p. 46.
[ii] Giridharadas, Anand. “Hijacking America.” The New York Times Book Review. August 23, 2020, p. 14.
