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"...the average American loves to hate their neighbor’s way of
thinking, believing or living, both domestically and internationally,
and so they MUST be changed through use of force. You see this
represented in the platforms of all party, yes, even the allegedly
deficit hating Tea Party. But this fanaticism to change every single
human on earth to conform to the angry American way of thinking is the
biggest cause of the deficit I believe. The taxpayer calls in law
enforcement if a black man takes a slice of pizza or a Muslim man walks
the wrong way in Pakistan; and, in each case, the tens of thousands of
dollars option is always taken and when the bill comes they shriek and
then murder some more people to make up for the anxiety of having so
much debt. It’s a luxury to find so many things wrong with so many
other people; hopefully, it is a luxury that Americans will soon give
up. As it is, they are bankrupt and increasing their debt burden in an
orgy of punishing & abusing people all around the world,
domestically and internationally..."<br>
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(above quote from Stacy Herbert at maxkeiser.com)<br>
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<p><em>Resentment, frustration and anger are now ubiquitous features of
U.S. culture. This is the consequence of several factors, none of them
positive.</em></p>
<p><strong>"Horn broken, watch for finger."</strong> This bumper
sticker perfectly captures the zeitgeist of the nation: the horn is
broken, and everyone is giving everyone else the finger.</p>
<p><strong>Why are simmering resentment, frustration and anger now
ubiquitous features of U.S. culture? I would posit the following
factors:</strong></p>
<p><strong>1. A culture of entitlement</strong>: the U.S. is now a
culture of takers obsessed with getting their "fair share" of the
swag/borrowed money. "We were promised!" (public employees); "I earned
it!" (Social Security recipient, though only the first 3-4 years of
benefits are drawn from his/her contributions, and everything after
that is welfare drawn from the hides of current workers);
"healthcare/income security/housing is a right!" (everybody's got
rights, but nobody seems to have any duties or obligations); "it's for
the children/elderly!" (that is, my expense account, million-dollar
pension, etc. are nominally protected by the banner of "education"
and/or "healthcare"), and so on.</p>
<p>Those with access to "private welfare" such as CEOs are a privileged
class; most of us have to elbow our way to the crowded public trough.
The truly select feed at the Wall Street trough, which combines private
welfare skimmed from shareholders and investors, and Central State
welfare issued in unlimited billions via bailouts, Fed purchases of
toxic debt, backstops, loan guarantees, etc.</p>
<p>But like the story about the attractive young lady who blushingly
agrees to share her favors for $10,000, but balks when the suitor
downgrades his offer to a paltry $100 (with the punchline being, "We've
already established what you're willing to sell, now we're just
haggling over the price"), the recipient has sacrificed autonomy in
accepting the entitlement, regardless of the source or size. This is
how complicity to a host of embezzlements, corruptions and
exploitations is purchased.<strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>2. A culture of victimhood:</strong> Victimhood is rewarded,
shouldering ones' own load and thrift are punished. Like rats in a
maze, Americans respond to incentives and disincentives: as a result,
everyone is shouting out their claim to victimhood. The cacophony is
reminiscent of a classroom of spoiled children all claiming excuses for
their odious behavior and poor performance.</p>
<p><strong>3. Unrealistic expectations: </strong>nobody wants to do
demanding physical labor, so skilled-craft jobs go begging and
companies have to train workers. Favored careers include sports heroes,
Web entrepreneurs (as long as the work isn't too arduous and the
cashout comes quickly), entertainers, film makers, etc.--all highly
desirable and all scarce in the real world.</p>
<p>Offers which don't meet Americans' lofty expectations of their
market value are rejected with a sniff (and good old American optimism:
"something better will come along soon").</p>
<p>Numerous financial websites offer up fare such as "how many millions
do you need to retire comfortably," as if saving hundreds of thousands
of dollars is even an option for the vast majority of wage-earners.</p>
<p><strong>4. Hype, hypocrisy and propaganda dominate the nation's
politics and mainstream media: </strong>soaring rhetoric about growth,
recovery, the American can-do spirit, the benefits of bailing out the
Financial Power Elite, etc. have raised expectations that have
repeatedly been dashed by reality.</p>
<p>All these relentlessly glad tidings and admonishments flow from the
rentier-cartel Power Elites of the State/Plutocracy partnership, which
owns the MSM (mainstream media) and most of the nation's productive
wealth.</p>
<p>Thus we get billionaire Charlie Munger (one of a pair of outstanding
hypocrites at his firm) suggesting that "the little people" need to
"suck it in and cope," leaving him and Warren to the task of reaping
billions more from ongoing taxpayer bail-outs of firms they bought into
with State collusion.</p>
<p>The announcement that the Great Recession is over is simply the
latest in an unending line of increasingly meaningless pronouncements
transparently designed to persuade the public that everything's really,
really getting much, much better, and their sour mood in the face of
this outpouring of "good news" is irrational and, well, downright
annoying. Get with the program, people! Everything's going great! (at
least for billionaires who were offered Goldman Sachs shares at the
bottom.)</p>
<p><strong>5. It's somebody else's fault:</strong> you can fill in the
perps, but leave the American public/consumer/voter as hapless,
helpless victims of nefarious forces.</p>
<p><strong>6. The frustration of addicted debt-serfs:</strong> We hate
the nation's political class and the "up yours" service provided by
Corporate America, but we are seemingly powerless to rid ourselves of
these Overlords and leeches. Voters rail against dysfunctional
insiders, yet they re-elect the craven parasite in their own district.
They complain about cable TV providers but don't cancel their service
lest their addiction to the smack/coke cocktail of TV be curtailed.</p>
<p><strong>7. The 30-year erosion of the middle class:</strong> this
chart says it all:</p>
<table class="image-container center" width="200">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<div class="image"><img src="cid:part1.04080109.03010905@pigs.ag"
alt="Income Graph" border="0"></div>
<p class="source">Image: <a href="http://www.itulip.com">itulip.com</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>The middle class filled the growing gap between stagnant earnings
and steep increases in living costs, healthcare (a.k.a. sickcare),
education, and housing with a second income (Mom, aunty, sister and
Grandma all entered the workforce en masse) during the 1970s, and then
they filled the still-widening gap in the 80s, 90s and 2000s with
ever-expanding debt.</p>
<p>The dot-com bubble provided the illusion that permanently rising
equities would painlessly fill the gap (pension plans were happy to
join in the mass delusion). When that fantasy imploded, it was quickly
replaced with the exact same fantasy, only this time based on housing.</p>
<p><strong>Now that the "housing never goes down" fantasy has imploded</strong>,
the dwindling remains of the once-great middle class are slouching
dejectedly through the ruins of the political center (which cannot hold
because there is no center, only a State/Plutocracy Elite and a rabble
of State dependents defending their fiefdoms), filled with bitter
resentments at this undeserved plight--for isn't this the Greatest
Empire the World Has Ever Known?--beset by anxieties about the rough
beasts (let us call them austerity, restraint, humility,
responsibility, patience, sacrifice and thrift) whose hour has come
round at last.</p>
<p>And just to end on a lighter note:</p>
<span><br>
<br>
Read more: <a style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153);"
href="http://www.businessinsider.com/are-resentment-frustration-and-anger-the-defining-feature-of-the-new-american-2010-9#ixzz10Q1tzMIx">http://www.businessinsider.com/are-resentment-frustration-and-anger-the-defining-feature-of-the-new-american-2010-9#ixzz10Q1tzMIx</a></span></div>
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