The Era of American Narcissism Must End

[Writer]

We honor those who find success regardless of the consequences to the health and well-being of others. We celebrate their successes yet fail to look at the costs.

The problems we face currently in the White House - the inability to admit fault and destructive decision making - is a problem endemic within our own society.

Think about what many American parents consider when we send our kids to school. Compete. Not academically, but socially. Don't be a 2%'er. Show 'em whose boss if other children offend you. And if you mess up, we'll be the first persons on the phone complaining to the Principal about how THEY messed up. They fail to instill the values of self-assessment, learning, and maturity. Instead the values many American parents teach today involve victimized thinking and using powerful associates (parents) to cover misdeeds. This thinking breeds narcissism in our children.

These values leak into the business world and adult society. America is not fundamentally a mature society. Many parts of it are spoiled and self-conscious, focused on the acquisition of material goods and social competition. Narcissism reigns as the underpinning value of America. And when narcissistic actions lead to success in the business and political realms, analysts celebrate their "genius" bending of the social system to their will.

Our pinning anti-social behavior as successes has led us to issues we see today. Bush, Rove (especially), Cheney, and others are anti-social in nature. They refuse to admit fault, they make fundamentally damaging decisions that wreck lives and damage democracy, and they use their powerful allies to cover misdeeds. But who cares! They win! And that's all that counts, right?

Wrong. Dangerously wrong.

The fact that our moral center, America's religious institutions, has been co-opted by the institutionalized narcissism gripping our country wrecks our ability to self-assess. We must, then, rebuild from within those values that establish a functional society: accountability, personal responsibility, and the benefits of learning and growing. We must shed ourselves of our narcissism and recapture adult society.

It must begin with each new baby born to an American mother. We must start again.

Maybe, then, we can cure ourselves of this ailment.

[Fovea]

1. Total agreement

this culture of unaccountable corruption starts with the 'we won so we are right' mentality. It sends a very bad message.

I seem to remember a Puggie theme being 'think of the children,' so why do they lie, cheat, and steal?

[patrice]

2. Oh, I LIKE that, ". . . institutionalized narcissism. . ."!

Now, to get some balance between narcissism and self-loathing. This will be necessary in order to develope the cognitive objectivity and motivation needed to "start again".

Not that the negative things you are saying aren't true in various degrees of each of us. I was just thinking how often I hear the "opposition" complaining *MOST* about what a bunch of negative, unhappy people we are. They don't hear the facts of what we are saying, because they perceive us as too negative.

On edit: BTW, I agree with you; we've got to "start again" with a different way of living that is both more Creative and more Just.

[Writer]

3. Well, if "we're" really so negative...

Then why are they so unabashedly positive, to the point of overlooking reality?

Isn't that just as, if not more, dangerous?

[patrice]

4. I think we are reacting to each other sometimes.

Other times they're just Wrong, and still other times they're Right. The same is true of us too, so the real question is something like, "Are we right about yada yada at this point in time?"

[wli]

5. American society is terminally ill AFAICT

The fundies, the neocons, the freepers, the wading eyebrow-deep in MSM propaganda, the ridiculously dumbed down education, the rigged elections, etc. makes the "machine" unstoppable. There are no answers anymore.

[Karenina]

6. Don't worry

It is travelling with the speed of a freight train in open country directly into the brick wall of reality.

[existentialist]

7. And sliming anybody

who argues for putting on the breaks, or anything else remotely unpleasant or upsetting to the neocon delusion of how things should be (and aren't and fundamentally cannot be).>

[Rich Hunt]

8. yes, you nailed it

Thanks. Unfortunately, many of the people guilty of it don't even recognize the word narcissism.

[slay]

9. Republicans seem to subscribe to a "win at all costs" philosophy

And if that means war or stolen elections, they seem a-ok with it. My question to them would be, what exactly is it you think you're winning? A polluted planet for your children? Congratulations. A legacy of war, hatred, and aggression? Republicans bring out the worst in people. People I normally like have been riled up by these assholes into hating Muslims, hating gays, and supporting war. We must stop playing nice with these criminals and liars in suits who call themselves Republicans. It is NOT ok to be a Republican in my book and I'll be glad to tell anyone who disagrees with me why.

[Batgirl]

10. narcissism behind the wheel

Watch how people drive to see how plentiful the narcissists are and how they fuck us over.

Particularly loathsome: narcissists who know their lane is going to end.

If everyone just slowed down and got over in the first place, we could all make it through the construction with no more than a 10 minute delay. The narcissist tactic: Pass as many chumps as you can before cutting back into traffic just before your lane ends. Sure, this will double or triple the delay for everyone else. (That's what they get for following the rules.) But it will reduce the narcissist's wait to a mere minute or two, which is all that matters to him.

But lately I've noticed that some people have taken it upon themselves to thwart these narcissists. And often they have to work with the cooporation of other drivers, to use their vehicles to block the soon-to-end lane, forcing these would-be line cutters to give up and get back in line with everyone else.

And it seems to be working. Lately I've been in several similar situations where everyone got over when they were supposed to, and no one even tried to take cuts. Not even the ones driving very large, intimidating trucks. I agree we have to cure ourselves of the ailment of narcissism. And this thing I've observed makes me think it's up to the "rule-following chumps" to be very blunt in showing disapproval of these tactics.

[Writer]

12. Well, gosh, I never imagined a response like this!

LOL! It's true, though, that philosophy is esconsed within the fabric of society - especially when it comes to driving.

[pippin]

11. Re-reading The Culture of Narcissism

Some years back Christopher Lasch wrote the book The Culture of Narcissism where he described how society has become self-absorbed, out of touch with its past and future, and totally immersed in self-gratification. The book was published in 1979 and sub-titled
American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations His premise was certainly prophetic when you look at life in America today for the average person-struggling to meet ends meet, confused or oblivious about what's going on in the world, misinformed most of the time by government and media etc., etc. Narcissism, so we are told, is a self-protective mechanism. The way things are is it any wonder people increasingly turn inward to their own concers to the extent of shutting out anything that may seem threatening or extraneous to their own immediacy?