Have you noticed how, in most countries, walking on a flag or religious symbol is an insult, but in the US we paint our flags and slogans on the street to be trampled and run over?
While this may seem trivial, it’s an important clue as to where Americans are psychologically. /1
While this may seem trivial, it’s an important clue as to where Americans are psychologically. /1
We tend to be a superficial people. Between Hollywood, the media, Instagram, and our positive thinking gurus, we value the appearance of things over the reality. We also tend to think if we believe something hard enough, it will become true. We’re learning this is a lie. /2
We also tend to expect “rights.” Most of us have never had to fight or even work for the right to worship, vote, or express our opinions. We’ve come to define rights as, “whatever makes us feel happy and proud.” But we’re not happy or proud. We’re depressed and angry. /3
And we think rights should be like fast food; made to order, quick, and cheap. “I want to be happy and proud, and I believe this-thing-over-here will make me happy and proud, so I’m going to demand it as my right, and if I don’t get it, that means I’m disliked and not valued.” /4
But, you see, this sets us up for disappointment. Because even after we get the-thing, we’re still not happy or proud. And so we demand more things and more things, but every time we get the-things, we feel disappointed, unfulfilled, and hungry for what-we-do-not-understand. /5
The counter-intuitive thing about dignity is when you demand it for yourself you cannot have it. Desiring honor is dishonorable. To want happiness you must first be unhappy. So we chase a dream; an illusion; an ideal that cannot come to be no matter how much we believe in it. /6
On the contrary, to have dignity you must give dignity to others. To gain honor you must treat others honorably. To be happy you must desire happiness for others. This is what many Anericans don’t understand. We want things for ourselves; other people come second. 7/
Now we can see why many narcissists are also depressive. They want respect and attention and praise for themselves, but they don’t know how to give it to others. They can’t be happy. Their thirst to be loved can never be satisfied, because they don’t love other people. 8/
And so we claim to want pride, equality, and happiness, but we paint our flags and slogans in the dirt, because despite our pretenses we don’t feel proud, equal, or happy. It’s all a sham. 9/
The very way we express our pseudo-positivity and faux-confidence reveals our true feelings of inferiority, betrayal, and depression. I’m sure you can think of other ways our expressions of freedom look more like oppression or degredation. 10/
America’s problem is far bigger than racism, sexism, or even narcissism. These are evil symptoms of a much more deeply rooted problem. We do not view ourselves as made in the image of God, or our worth as rooted in His redemption. We view ourselves as lost and irredeemable. 11/
We’ve planted our souls in dead soil, and now from our hearts sprout all kinds of wickedness, dysfunction, futility, and hopelessness.
And this subtle but fundamental twisting and warping of our perspective has affected everything; how we treat ourselves and everyone around us.
And this subtle but fundamental twisting and warping of our perspective has affected everything; how we treat ourselves and everyone around us.
