American Culture is Dead

Coffee and a joint. They call it a hippie speed ball. For me? Breakfast. My head spins reading one headline after another. Everything has gone to shit. I try to get lost in good ol’ fashion American entertainment. The perfect distraction. Thing this country is second most famous for. No longer do I recognize the world around me. American culture died on the comfort of our couches while we scrolled our phones right next to the half-eaten bag of chips and our old collection of DVDs. Fashion reruns by the youth. No one listens to their radio, but even if they did, they’re playing music I don’t know.

Living life behind a screen. Parks are empty. Addicted to notifications and online validation. Zombified social media dances for attention. Online fantasy fulfillment influencers stealing jobs from local working girls. Digital challenges to keep up with the times. Egotistical, naive, or mean-spirited influencers peddling products for fame, fortune, and glory, pets of the companies they sponsor. Compulsive gambling at our fingertips. Bet on celebrity hookups, box office hauls, or the game! Who cares what you’re wagering on, shut up and spend your money. Here's ten dollars in free bets, just use the promo code: YOUREBEINGROBBED.

Protesting has become so common, it has no effect on policy. Hating thy fellow American because our opinion is better. Believing politicians on our side are honest with the only bad ones being on the other side. For almost a hundred years the Democrats and Republicans have clogged up our government, yet we still vote for the same two parties who have a chokehold on American democracy wondering why things aren’t getting any better.

Rather than cure the disease, we focus on the symptoms. It’s how we handle all of our problems. Processed food, unhealthy people, giant medical bills. Reactive healthcare rakes in more profits than preventative healthcare. Violent rhetoric, killers in our neighborhood. Angry men and women frustrated with their lives, an epidemic plaguing our society.

Seven billion TV shows produced this week on forty-eight streaming services. Everyone has a recommendation, too, like they discovered a diamond in a sea of uninspired crap. The constant desire for Hollywood executives to build connected movie universes has turned every story into a setup for the next one. Boring cameos. Recycled storylines. Bland movies with shoehorned values that disrupt the story instead of enhancing it. That’s not a knock on anyone’s beliefs; it’s calling out bad writing. We know more about fictional worlds and make-believe characters than our own friends and family. And guess what? I’m guilty as charged.

Obsessing or hating the “perfect all-American” couple that makes high school romance fans swoon. Comedians afraid to cross a line, making all their jokes barely get a chuckle. Spectators cursing out athletes for underperforming and killing their parlays.

Books become secondary revenue streams for the famous. Content boosting and brand building assets instead of stories about humanity from the soul of a creative. Why does a man who wears makeup and reads the news from a teleprompter need to write six memoirs? Not that there's anything wrong with a man getting dolled up. This is America and freedom is whatever we want it to be.

With so much going on, I can’t remember what happened two hours ago. I don’t understand any slang and don’t care enough to learn something new, but you do you. A symptom of getting old or the death of creativity from content overload? Technology too advanced for humanity’s unevolved minds. Trapping us in echo chambers of our own choosing without our conscious mind.

Overwhelmed, I retreat to the comfort of nostalgia. It takes me to a simpler time. No wonder everyone trying to sell something is trying to tap into that emotion. All I know is that with constant stress and a world that seems to be in a transitional phase, burying my head in front of a screen helps me escape at least a little while.

Memes help me cope with the trauma of an always on world. The best ones poke fun at our darkest truths. Reading the comments is how I waste most of my life. It’s the melting pot of people Even robots are there chiming in. The most honest and deceitful avatar of ourselves is who we are behind a screen. Or behind the wheel.

We used to chase stars in the galaxy, crave knowledge, push boundaries, and do our best to make the world a better place. Art was made to be creative, not to rake in profits. We respected our neighbors and judged them on how they treat others. Now, we all double down on our beliefs, ignoring our humanity to focus on what can make us the most, cost us the least, and is usually the most selfish path of existence.

Is the world moving on with me stuck in the same place? It’s hard to tell because every generation says the same thing around the same age. The music gets louder, the nights shorter, and the mornings longer. I’ve seen the culture shift. Not everyone lives long enough to see it happen. What an honor to be alive.

Are things worse now? Doesn’t matter. I’m a caveman compared to the youth. The younger generation isn’t dumb, even if their cultural taste is tough for me to swallow. They prefer local shops instead of greedy corporations. Wars? They want no part of pointless loss of life anywhere in the world. They fight for equality, justice, our planet, and their own lives. It seems to me they’re paying attention to their elders' struggles. I’d call that progress. Even if we don’t always agree.