Domestic industry has been substantially gutted/outsourced.
The roles of church and community organizations have been eroded.
Populations have been made subject to quarantines at the whim of the state.
When all these contacts; and activities that involve body, mind, and grasp of reality; are stripped away, what is left but self?
Then throw in a pop culture that caters to our infantilism, consumerism, and preoccupation with our own needs. Narcissism as a widespread phenomenon would seem a predictable result.
Perhaps back in the day, many moons ago, the widely acknowledged belief in God, the Highest Power over all forms of life, provided a cushion against narcissism. Perhaps also, Christendom provided a cover for those that used it to pacify their subjects as they ruled over them. Without a deity, other forms of worship are certain take hold. Is it government, political party, or self?
"Narcissus, wearied with hunting in the heat of the day, lay down here: for he was attracted by the beauty of the place, and by the spring. While he sought to quench his thirst, another thirst grew in him, and as he drank, he was enchanted by the beautiful reflection that he saw. He fell in love with an insubstantial hope, mistaking a mere shadow for a real body. Spellbound by his own self, he remained there motionless, with fixed gaze, like a statue carved from Parian marble."
How will historians describe early 21st century American society that participates in On-Line Narcissistic Self-Victimization? Will they elaborate on an experiment gone wrong like a Kurt Vonnegut storyline where We the People live in cages while the criminals/devils dance in debauchery and decadence (think Sodom and Gomorrah)? Yikes! We better steer this Ship around before she sinks like the Titanic.
Add to that modern world, a flood of social workers (2000s) in public schools & nursing homes, along with a medical community who no longer value the Hippocratic Oath (even the revised one from the 1960s getting rid of the pro-life language).
Then, the social workers recommended therapists who recommend treatment, which would be drugs because everyone has a chemical brain imbalance from тАЬchildhood trauma.тАЭ [Kids from the American Dream era used to run off and play Kick the Can or ride their bike to erase their trauma.]
We live in an era where Drs. prescribe dangerous drugs marketed to consumers (!!!!) for big pharma and the medical industrial complex to make mega bucks. Cha-ching. No wonder society has gone Mad!
I agree ЁЯТп. There's a lot of money to be made in the "medical" industry which fixes nothing, but extends the warranty in order to keep you coming back. I think you nailed it.
In the modern world,
The traditional family is under attack.
The concept of nation has been undermined.
Domestic industry has been substantially gutted/outsourced.
The roles of church and community organizations have been eroded.
Populations have been made subject to quarantines at the whim of the state.
When all these contacts; and activities that involve body, mind, and grasp of reality; are stripped away, what is left but self?
Then throw in a pop culture that caters to our infantilism, consumerism, and preoccupation with our own needs. Narcissism as a widespread phenomenon would seem a predictable result.
Perhaps back in the day, many moons ago, the widely acknowledged belief in God, the Highest Power over all forms of life, provided a cushion against narcissism. Perhaps also, Christendom provided a cover for those that used it to pacify their subjects as they ruled over them. Without a deity, other forms of worship are certain take hold. Is it government, political party, or self?
"Narcissus, wearied with hunting in the heat of the day, lay down here: for he was attracted by the beauty of the place, and by the spring. While he sought to quench his thirst, another thirst grew in him, and as he drank, he was enchanted by the beautiful reflection that he saw. He fell in love with an insubstantial hope, mistaking a mere shadow for a real body. Spellbound by his own self, he remained there motionless, with fixed gaze, like a statue carved from Parian marble."
Narcissus by the Pool
from Ovid's "Metamorphoses"
Dated 8 CE.
How will historians describe early 21st century American society that participates in On-Line Narcissistic Self-Victimization? Will they elaborate on an experiment gone wrong like a Kurt Vonnegut storyline where We the People live in cages while the criminals/devils dance in debauchery and decadence (think Sodom and Gomorrah)? Yikes! We better steer this Ship around before she sinks like the Titanic.
Add to that modern world, a flood of social workers (2000s) in public schools & nursing homes, along with a medical community who no longer value the Hippocratic Oath (even the revised one from the 1960s getting rid of the pro-life language).
Then, the social workers recommended therapists who recommend treatment, which would be drugs because everyone has a chemical brain imbalance from тАЬchildhood trauma.тАЭ [Kids from the American Dream era used to run off and play Kick the Can or ride their bike to erase their trauma.]
We live in an era where Drs. prescribe dangerous drugs marketed to consumers (!!!!) for big pharma and the medical industrial complex to make mega bucks. Cha-ching. No wonder society has gone Mad!
I agree ЁЯТп. There's a lot of money to be made in the "medical" industry which fixes nothing, but extends the warranty in order to keep you coming back. I think you nailed it.