The Devastating Double-Separation That’s Crippled the U.S.

I’ve been making an attempt to grasp precisely why the U.S. is doing so poorly, usually, and is going through so many daunting social and political challenges. Actually, I’ve been pondering this for years and have by no means arrived at any really passable solutions.

Then, the opposite day, it forcefully hit me: the U.S. actually IS distinctive amongst nations, in that it’s a very new nation, based mostly on a brand new sort of presidency and society, on a newly-colonized continent. Our total, ongoing motto has been: ‘Out with the outdated, in with the brand new.’

However all that ‘newness’ comes with a hefty price ticket: alongside the way in which, conventional methods and cultural roots get misplaced, connection to the previous will get misplaced, and social cohesiveness and identification get misplaced as properly. (Observe: that is in all probability precisely why the ‘family tree craze’ is so huge right here; persons are desperately looking for connections and their misplaced roots.)

In fact, this isn’t actually ‘information’; in some methods, it’s frequent data. However the different day, I noticed simply how deep and painful all these long-term losses have been and ARE.

The U.S. has usually been known as a ‘melting pot,’ with the thought being that former nationwide identities and cultures are all ‘melted down,’ blended collectively, and mixed in new methods — and that this can be a strongly optimistic growth.

However in some ways, it has not been optimistic. For most individuals, it quantities to a devastating strategy of loss, confusion, and chaotic socioeconomic development… and ends in a painful inside void and ‘vacancy.’

Former nationwide or cultural identities had been ‘melted down’ or ripped away — however then there’s nothing to adequately exchange them… besides, maybe, capitalism, selfishness, and greed. (And these are not good or wholesome replacements.)

Why is it SO loopy within the U.S.?

Given all of the weird, horrifying developments within the U.S. over the previous decade, particularly (assume Trump and MAGA), folks all over the world are questioning: “What the hell is occurring within the U.S. — and why is it SO loopy over there? What the hell is improper with these Individuals?”

Effectively, I’ve began to appreciate that what we’re seeing within the U.S. might be the inevitable finish consequence of a long-term social and political experiment gone badly awry.

On this experiment, folks had been ripped away from their unique cultures (even when they selected to flee their homeland, not like Black slaves), ripped away from their societal roots, torn away from their connection to the lands the place they grew up, and plunked down in a brand new land with new guidelines and legal guidelines and solely minimal social or cultural assist.

By way of the outdated ‘nature vs. nurture’ debate (loosely outlined), the brand new Individuals suffered tremendously on each counts.

They misplaced their connection to the outdated Europe or Africa and the lands of their delivery, actually, and to European or African cultural and non secular traditions as properly — that means they misplaced a deep sense of connection on each a bodily ‘nature’ degree and the non secular degree. Plus, they misplaced most of their cultural connections or cultural assist programs, and infrequently their sense of social or ethnic identification as properly.

A nation overflowing with vacancy

This meant they quickly misplaced nearly all of each their inside and outer foundations. In some ways, the settlers and colonists (and slaves) had been left with nothing.

That they had left behind their connections to nature and their acquainted Earth — however they’d additionally forsaken or been ripped away from the cultural varieties or social matrix that used to assist them. In some ways, they skilled an ongoing state of persistent compelled separation and had been, in actual fact, emotionally bereft, each by way of ‘nature’ and ‘nurture.’

Scarily, in some ways, the American ‘melting pot’ tore away peoples’ former identities and beliefs — after which foolishly tried to interchange them with nothing. And we known as that nothingness ‘freedom.’

However ‘nothingness’ is rarely an excellent alternative for significant cultural identification and assist. If we really feel torn away from our roots and from our cultural and spiritual traditions, we’ll doubtless really feel a stark, painful vacancy inside — as we wrestle and ‘attempt to adapt’ to the swelling of nothingness.

However nobody can really absolutely adapt to such deep loss and vacancy. It’s a deep, soul-level wound — and such wounding and ongoing nothingness are a really poor foundation for a brand new society.

Photograph by Josh Johnson on Unsplash

Why are we so alienated, anxious, and sad?

Of all of the folks in all of the nations of the world, at present’s Individuals are among the many most alienated, anxious, and sad. Many latest research affirm this.

To my thoughts, this sample is the direct results of our long-term immersion within the terrible nothingness of our American ‘melting pot’ and of our long-term deprivation on each the ‘nature’ and ‘nurture’ fronts.

In a way, most Individuals seem to be needy, grasping orphans to me: misplaced, lonely, anxious, and pining for some kind of love and stability.

However in a society based mostly on strident ‘individualism’ and hatred of ‘socialism’ (learn: working social assist programs), there’s not a lot love, assist, or stability to be discovered. As a substitute, there’s the endless competitors of the ‘rat race.’

On this deeply dysfunctional, ‘fashionable’ experimental nation, lots of our most simple human wants — for love, connection, stability, and that means — merely aren’t being met. Then these important inside wants, and the accompanying inside ache, simply continue to grow — and our unmet wants quickly flip bitter (very bitter) inside us.

Our deep, unmet wants flip into infinite neediness, anger, and gnawing, endless inside ache, which we then try and assuage with money-making, consumerism, and infinite consumption.

It’s a grim state of affairs, for certain. Any nation populated by needy, anxious, and sad residents is certain to finish up in a darkish, harmful place that appears and feels quite a bit like… at present’s America.

Any superficial adjustments are certain to fail

For all these causes, any short-term, superficial adjustments on the social or political ranges are certain to fail.

The founding beliefs of the U.S. appeared optimistic, and appeared useful, initially — however as time handed and our nation grew and developed, its inherent limitations and risks had been revealed, and have become an increasing number of obvious and apparent.

You’ll be able to’t simply strip away all of the issues that folks believed in and constructed their lives round — and nonetheless anticipate them to be wholesome, completely satisfied, and happy.

You’ll be able to’t take away most of what offers that means and stability to peoples’ lives — after which (foolishly) anticipate to create and expertise a secure, purposeful society.

Human life simply doesn’t work that approach — however the American experiment was designed to disprove this and present {that a} fantastic new society and lifestyle might actually be created from nothing. ‘Out with the outdated, in with the brand new.’

It’s taken a number of centuries, however now we will see this super-ambitious experiment is failing, huge time, and is at risk of full collapse — together with the psychological well being of its anxious, sad residents/guinea pigs.

A brand new American Actuality is desperately wanted

It’s well past time, now, for a complete revision/re-visioning of our ‘American Dream’ — as a result of the preliminary dream and the nightmare it will definitely grew to become had been each born of totally unrealistic and harmful assumptions about ‘human nature’ and human beings’ wants.

Human beings want stability, ongoing nurturing, and wholesome social and cultural assist — and do NOT do properly with nothingness, vacancy, extreme individualism, infinite competitors, and an ongoing lack of nurturing and social assist.

Sadly, the fashionable U.S and its residents are each extremely dysfunctional, and teetering on the sting of collapse, as a result of the U.S. was set as much as be precisely this fashion. Nevertheless it’s clear now that our American experiment is failing badly, for all the explanations talked about above.

A brand new American dream, and a a lot higher, extra sensible, and more healthy American dream, is now desperately wanted.

Higher but, a extra grounded, more healthy, and way more humane American actuality is desperately wanted.

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This submit was beforehand revealed on MEDIUM.COM.

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Photograph credit score: iStock.com