At Tikkun Magazine, Harriet Fraad points to five sources that have “devastated the American moral, economic, psychological, and social landscape”:
An unnatural economic and psychological disaster has struck America. Five contributors, each interacting with and shaping the others, have devastated the American moral, economic, psychological, and social landscape. Each is fed by related streams, but each contributes its own force to the disaster. The American dream in which each generation surpassed the previous generation in real wages has all but disappeared, along with dreams of an intact family, a steady job, a home, and an honest supportive community.
This article looks at each of five collaborators in the crisis in order to answer the following questions:
How did this happen? What forces are responsible?
Why are Americans passive as millions lose their homes, their jobs, their families, their hopes of justice, and the American dream?
Why do Americans remain disorganized at home while their European and Asian counterparts flood into the streets and strike in militant, organized protest? Why do others believe in their potential to reclaim their lives while we do not?
What happened is a result of at least five major, interrelated forces. One is a transformation of American morality, and with it the loss of belief that the social and political realms could be shaped by morality, ethics, and secular spirituality. Another is an economic depression. A third is a transformation of the family, which has been the foundation of American emotional life. A fourth is the decimation of Americans’ social participation in all areas, from bridge clubs and PTAs to political parties. A fifth is the tranquilizing and numbing of the American population with psychotropic medications.
Read the full article at Tikkun Magazine. And visit Tikkun Daily and the Tikkun Phone Forum for more reflections from the author.
There’s no doubt about it: it’s a tough time to be an American. Our economy is limping along, there is discontent on the home front about our wars abroad, and our world image is less than desirable. The American dream, once a tangible thing to be achieved, is now, to this generation, just that: a dream. The baby boomers have spoiled their children, making them into the NOW! generation, wanting everything instantly without effort, work, or consequence. No wonder our country is dealing with an economic crisis. Our plan for getting out of this rut is little better: quick fixes with huge bailouts and federal government loans. Necessary as these measures may currently be, without a long-term plan for repairing our economic structure, things will continue to be ‘business as usual’ in the Wall Street world, with huge handouts for the execs who don’t need them, all while main street economics and small town America go by the wayside.