Narcissism: It’s killing America

Among methods used in interrogations, a well-known one is sleep-deprivation. Depriving the body of such important aspects of life obviously results in breaking the subject. Another deprivation method that has come under scrutiny is sensory deprivation. Through modern technology, interrogators can deprive the body of all the senses: being able to smell, feel, see, hear and taste. This can really mess with someone’s mind, resulting in hallucinations and all sorts of breakdowns.

This sensory deprivation can illustrate the way the American mind has broken down – or more like the American soul. To a degree, the average American is growing up in a culture of sensory deprivation, but in a different way. Instead of lacking stimulation and creating to fill the void, we’re constantly barraged with mindless “entertainment.” Each day, news arrives telling us of senseless violence, desensitizing us to evil. Through mediums of entertainment, we see more violence, distorted sex and perversion. This has been talked about quite a bit and many are concerned about the breakdown of America’s conscience, but it goes much deeper than just our morality.

Further than that, it has to do with the heart of America – our hope and our wonder of life. A post-modern’s life seems not to be filled with much wonder or mystery of life. We, as a nation, are not creative or expressive. Where is our mystery? Where is our wonder? The best we can do in pop culture is come up with a movie version of “Lord of the Rings” and call it deep. Where’s our hope? Where’s our music, poetry, literature and all forms of art? Where are the hallmarks of a culture that’s alive? It’s nowhere to be found. Our popular culture is dead.

I believe this has a lot to do with humans simply acting like animals. We flock to forms of entertainment and stimulation of the body rather than the mind. Our nation’s obsession with sex, our problem with obesity, our desire to see the failings other humans, and our obsession with death and senseless violence is a testament to this.

This result seems to be because of our amplification of narcissism. We’re going to try to get by with the least it takes and avoid work and pain. So, in reality, we’re really good at obtaining wealth and buying pleasure. That’s our national image. Where’s our imagination? Where are our artists? Where is our truth? We ignore it. We no longer seek truth, and we no longer reward those who do.

Our ability to argue has been lost. The best we can do intellectually is argue about the service records of two men from 30 years ago. As I outlined in a recent column, our national debates are as shallow as can be, having little to do with truth and relevance to America’s future.

Even intellectually, our advancements in science and technology are just adding to this narcissism and complacency. Instead of looking at the sky with awe and joy, we’re confident in explaining away anything that might bring about questions.

So, it comes to this: We have no life in us. Nothing to be proud of except our immense wealth and our ability to flaunt it. We have a remnant of a conscience and family, but it is fading.

This American society that is heading fast into the new era of post-modernity is starving for something of depth, but no one notices. Think about it: In the interrogation form of sensory deprivation, the longer one’s senses are deprived, the less one becomes aware of reality. You would slowly lose concentration, peace of mind, and slip into a world of unconsciousness. That’s a picture what’s happening to the American culture.