21 Observations on American Culture
March 4, 2008
• We’re flooded with noise and have little respect for silence.
• Our days are overly busy.
• We abuse our bodies with poor food and too much food.
• We abuse our bodies with too little sleep.
• We abuse our bodies with too little activity.
• We’ve surrendered to mindless, pernicious distraction.
• We’re over-eroticized by the marketing of sex.
• We value money over ethical behavior.
• We value individual rights over the community.
• We idolize youth and are afraid of death.
• We’re awash in possessions, having more than we either need or use.
• We’re can’t control our spending and are awash in debt.
• We’ve mistaken the vulgar for the beautiful.
• We’ve lost trust and have become litigious.
• We’ve mistaken information from wisdom.
• We’ve grown callous toward the very young and very old.
• We neglect our promises, especially when there’s a cost to us.
• We fear long-term commitments.
• We’re losing our ability to concentrate.
• We’re quick to take revenge, slow to forgive.
• We’re temporocentric, unwilling to remember the past or imagine the future.