My Sense Of Alienation In America

“What happens to a society that cannot distinguish between reality and illusion?” As our country crumbles and our economy crashes, Chris Hedges asks this one question to his readers. Throughout his article, “American Psychosis,” he provides hit after hit of shocking proof that reveals the United States to not only be in desperate need of change, but also that the American people, with their obtuse nationalism and selfish greed, are blissfully ignorant of what could possibly be the downfall of this country. Hedges wants his reader to be shocked at the startling facts that he throws at them, to be angry at him for saying what must be blatant lies and exaggerations, and then to be inquisitive, to discover for themselves just how real the problems of the United States are and how dire the consequences can become. Hedges uses this article as a warning, he desperately wants his readers to understand just how bad things really are and he wants them to be inspired to change it, to stop whatever dark future that could happen. In this article, Hedges touches many subjects: Americans and

America seems to be trapped in the illusion of believing that it is the most powerful country and “ continue to embrace the illusion of inevitable progress, personal success and rising prosperity( American Psychosis).” However, in reality American continues to engage in war, augment its debt and millions of Americans rely on food stamps to survive. While a good percent of America is struggling from day to day, the rest of the general public are trapped in a psychosis and concerned with the next voted-off contestant of “America’s next top Model”, or “Survivor” rather than the adverse current events transpiring today. In Chris Hedges article “American Psychosis” all these points are emphasized through use of strong language and pathos.

A white man and a black man both walk into a store, both have same calm reaction, but the store clerk is suspicious of one for theft. Based on prejudice it can already be assumed who was wrongly accused. This is a prime example of underlying racism and white privilege. In today 's society racism is still a large problem. Racism is a malevolent set of ideas that was race is inferior as opposed to others. It is a poisonous cycle that can never be solved until people can acknowledge their privilege, have more compassion and take a stand against racism.

No matter what I tried, I could never truly have an objective mindset if I continued defining the term American as I was. If I clung to my own preconceived notion that there was something unique about Americans, I could never be objective. So instead, I began to look at other countries, trying to find parallels. To my shock and dismay, I found that America is actually similar to North Korea in some ways: citizens of both countries are raised on nationalistic pride and are told that they live in the greatest country in the world, that there is no place better. This corrupts one’s ability to look at their country with a truly objective eye. From this, I discerned a troubling fact: all people are the same, regardless of nationality or personal beliefs. There is no true separation between individuals of different countries, helping to develop my current belief that the term American holds no special regard in comparison to the rest of the world. It is simply a term used to allow an individual to feel

As Americans, we have the privilege to live blissfully in ignorance. An Ignorance that stems from fear and hatred. Fear that some will not always be able to preserve their power and social status, which feeds into the hatred toward those who threaten the status quo. Since the beginning of civilization, people have been discriminated against for differences they have no control of such as, but not limited to, their race and gender. These people have been ostracized and conditioned to believe their differences are abominable and unacceptable to the rest of society. These segregations have resulted in violence and disorder, from those demanding equal civil treatment the only way they know how. How does a nation that pledges indivisibility

Plus they were brainwashed to do this stuff, and they were hypnotized to work for the enemy.

America is a nation built upon strong and reasonable foundations, however, with the new American landscape those foundations are crumbling. The America of today is testing itself out and stretching its limbs; however, those limbs have smack everyone in the face and trampled on top of rationality and empathy. This monstrous new America is ill with a disease all too common for countries all too big for their bridges. Ignorance and the lack of communication it brings with it are to blame for the farce America has become. Today people lack the cultural knowledge and scientific know-how to confront the problems of the modern world. We degrade the environment around us— only second to China’s

“Walking, remembering, looking at the people and feeling pain because he knew that they could not see him, not now or ever again, because he had vanished” (277). Mr. Minchell is a 47 year-old man who cannot be truly seen by the people around him. Charles Beaumont, the author of the story The Vanishing American, writes about the dull but intriguing life of Mr. Minchell. Beaumont is known to use rich symbolism in his writing (“Newscaster”). Beaumont depicts Minchell’s life as monotonous, and also subconscious. The author also depicts Minchells depression when he uses italics to show conversations between Minchell and his depression going on inside Minchells head. The definition of depression is, “a serious medical condition in which a person feels very sad, hopeless, and unimportant and often is unable

According to Alberts and Nakayama (2013), individualist cultures tend to value individualism and independence over the development of relationships and group harmony, which collectivist cultures typically value. Additionally, individualist cultures usually divert from interfering with the conflicts of others, unless summoned by the involved individuals to intervene (Alberts & Nakayama, 2013, p. 203). This process of disengagement can also be observed in Kaori's story when Kaori asked some of her American friends how they felt about a recent conflict involving her Korean and Turkish friends? In fact, Kaori was appalled to learn that her American friends would advise her to refrain from becoming involved because it was their problem and not hers

War is many things. It may be many different things depending on each individual. Many soldiers get trained so their mentality is to characterize their opponents as less than human, so their lives lose all worth. Some soldiers however, are not prepared for this, even though they have been trained. One thing is training for it, another thing is actually killing a human being. As they kill more people, it becomes normalized for them. All they have seen changes their mind, while all of their dreams get swept aside by bloody hands of the hypnotized while they carry the cross of homicide. But why kill other strangers? What’s in it for the soldiers? War feeds the rich while it buries the poor. Rich people are power hungry, selling soldiers in human grocery store, using them as their little puppets who obey their master, making them go around killing each other in order to determine who is right, but in the end, war determines who is left. “The Man I Killed” by Tim O’Brien shows how soldiers who commit violence become traumatized and how that changes over time.

Have you ever imagined living in a world fighting for one’s own survival? A world where class, race, gender, sexual orientation is slightly ignored for the main purpose of survival. The 100, a American post-apocalyptic T.V. show, depicts the lives of one hundred delinquents who are forced down to Earth to discover whether Earth is habitable after a ruthless nuclear war. These delinquents are involuntarily thrown in a brutal war between the native people who’ve resided on Earth before the 100 landed. The reality being that there is no good guys during a war. Now imagine watching the world in the eyes of an enemy who rules thousands of Grounders, the soldiers who are born on Earth rather than in the Mountain or Space, and leads them as a strong

Citizens are brainwashed like mindless robots into believing there is a great evil out there and

When ISIS commenced operations against Bashar Al Assad and the Syrian government, foreign volunteers rushed to join their ranks, 200 American citizens among them. The presence and national security implications of these fighters is well documented by the media, and their motivations are transparent and easily discernible through propaganda produced by ISIS. But what about the 108 Americans who have fought for the Kurds against ISIS? While their individual motivations are expressed through interviews granted to the media, their motivations as a group and the greater implications of their service have been less scrutinized and deserve greater attention. There is a historical analogue to the present volunteers, however, that has been well documented and provides a basis with which to make an informed evaluation. In the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939, 2800 Americans fought with the International Brigades of the Republicans against the Nationalists. The American volunteers fighting for the Kurds against ISIS exhibit many of the same characteristics and motivations of the Americans who fought for the Republicans in Spain. By showing that the motivations of the two groups—separated by a lifetime—are fundamentally the same, context can be provided. A feeling of responsibility to the broader, global humanity motivated both generations of volunteers. Ideology, though different in these two cases, was a driving factor for both groups: political in the Spanish Civil War and

More and more, with no pause, pressed by at a fast (war) rhythm, psychological, mediatic, virtual, the only alternative is to be subdue by

Like the old quote: “See it to believe it.” fits perfectly to this point. This person thinks that American’s need to see how brutal war is so that they believe that it should be stopped. Tough love but for a good cause.