By Jonathan Hare
America is hated by most of the world. Why? Is it because of our success technologically and economically? Maybe. Could it be because we’re seen as snobs, staring at other countries down our noses? Possibly. I could name off a few other reasons why a modern day Rome would be on the world’s most wanted list, but for a country where wealth and entertainment are the epicenter of our culture, it’s a very unfortunate place to be.
We are freer than most other countries; we can say whatever we want, and do whatever we want, at least far more than most of the world. Our relative freedom, however, has lead to some problems. Living in a democracy allows people to be immoral and irresponsible, without much consequence. Other than being frowned upon by others in society, most of our actions are our own. Obviously, we have laws that restrict us from doing things that have been deemed unacceptable by historic and modern intellectuals, but, as I said, we are freer than almost any other culture.
This freedom has lead to an apathetic, “tolerant” society. This indifference, subsequently, has lead to the most depressed nation in the world. A study byRichard O’Conner, PhD, states that 20 percent of Americans suffer from depression. That’s around 17.5 million Americans.
That statistic, compared to the 121 million people worldwide that suffer from depression (World Health Organization), is astounding, especially since we live in the most affluent nation in the world. But that should come as no surprise. When a society is built off of consumerism, money and “stuff” is the foreground for acceptance; there is no limit to what is needed in order to demand the approval of that society.
Without these limits, and the fact that Americans, in a very general sense, seem to never have enough, we become discontent with what we have, and the satisfaction of achievement of the goal of buying that new house and new car just isn’t enough.
Your car is now last year’s model and it’s not the color that everybody wants today. You begin to realize your house looks exactly like every other house in your suburb. You need something new, and you need it now.
This isn’t some new concept, but one that has been downplayed to the point of absurdity, and has become a laughing matter. But we should be depressed. We are more concerned with a car and getting that huge bonus at work rather than building that relationship with your wife of ten years, and that is sad, but now you’re stuck. The cycle of work and more work and stuff and more stuff has sucked you in. That same cycle includes depression, something American can’t get over.
Is there an alternative solution? Who knows, but as long as we remain caught in this cycle of consumerism, we will also be torn apart by depression. As wonderful as our freedom is, when freedom is abused immorally and turned into nothing more than material, we’re bound to tear ourselves apart.
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