We’re Sad, Ugly and Stupid, Us Americans
At least that’s what multinational companies tell us
I was watching Jonah Hill’s documentary about his therapist, “Stutz”, when it struck me that the USA promotes a lot of self image problems. I wanted to talk through them and why I think they’re manufactured by the entities that run the US, corporations.
Sad
A gramme is better than a damn.
— Brave New World
The USA is the richest or among the richest of countries. And we’re in the top 20 when it comes to happiness.
But companies act like Americans are so sad and broken. And we’re in need of their medication for all our ailments.
These remedies come in many forms, but are not limited to:
- Entertainment: video games, movies, TV shows, social media
- Wellness services: meditation classes, therapy, retreats, wellness apps
- Drugs: medications, smoking, drinking, any elicit drugs or other substance abuse
These things are touted as the remedies to our sadness. But the reality is, sadness is part of the human condition. Most of these things are numbing agents, unless they help you process what you’re going through.
Numbing agents that come in the form of subscriptions and prescriptions.
Sadness is not fixable. It is part of the human condition. The pursuit of happiness is a pursuit, not a constant state. Gratefulness, something you can’t buy, is a much better way to mediate your emotional state than numbing yourself.
Ugly
We can rebuild him; we have the technology…
— The Six Million Dollar Man
Americans are never told they’re ugly directly, instead they are presented beautiful idols to worship and envy. Then they are marketed things like:
- Do this one thing for a month and lose 30 pounds
- Everything you know about exercise is wrong, here’s how the stars get in shape
- My 5 quick beauty tips to get you the love of your life
Beauty standards in the US revolve around people who look:
- healthy (nice hair, nice teeth, clean)
- fit
- sexually attractive (curves on women, muscles on men)
If you have enough money (common theme) you can change your look or have the fat sucked away. But if you reach for something quick, you’re buying into the whole “you are ugly, here’s a fix” culture that exists inside the US.
If you want your body to look a certain way, by all means pay for it if you have the money. But either way you’ll work for your looks, sweating at the gym or spending time in salons, vs. throwing all your hard earned money at the estheticians.
You can’t get away from the fact that there will be lots of work ahead to get the look you want, just pick which type of work benefits you vs. what benefits a company.
Work you do for just yourself is the greatest kind; it can even help you get away from the sadness bugbear mentioned above.
Sweat or sweat equity, the path to beauty. You could also just give up and look however you want, but unfortunately you’ll be at a real disadvantage if you decide ugly is for you.
Stupid
My boy is wicked smart!
— Good Will Hunting
Good Will Hunting centers around a smart kid (Will), working as a janitor at MIT, who can figure out math problems none of the students can. He ends up being saved by a professor and therapist that are willing to take Will in under their tutelage… but I won’t spoil the rest.
Will’s clearly been failed by the system he grew up in: a school system that was so bad, he ended up a janitor/ construction worker. Will faces other problems too, but when it comes down to it; US schooling is commodified and the price is high, and it screws over “smart” kids like Will.
Public schools in the US are “free,” but many kids that go through them are outcompeted by better resourced private school peers, or kids that attend better public schools in other counties. Separate and unequal.
What does public education have to do with private colleges? Well, they’re essentially conveyor belts. Most crummy public school systems are conveyor belts that push you into a low wage, highly replaceable job, like a low level retail worker or service industry job. Better schools try to push you into college, and those colleges can push you into universities/ masters programs.
All of this is because you are a stupid kid who needs to become a smart adult. This is the output of a corporatized education system: kids are problems to be solved. They’re not individuals with hopes, dreams, or aspirations. They’re just “naive” or “dumb.” And they need years of monetary investment to make them smart.
The saddest part is the university systems are effective. You make connections and get referred to high wage jobs by playing the game. It’s much harder (though possible) to claw your way into the upper echelons with a high school diploma or less.
What you need to learn, and learn early, is that there will always be things you don’t know, even if you’re among the best or smartest at something. The difference between professionals and amateurs in any field is the number of useful hours of practice they sink in, not the number of dollars. And accepting ineptitude early on is what allows you to push past pain and shame and become great.
Unfortunately society confuses degrees and other qualifications for mastery, but they’re not the same thing. Test scores are not your reflection of worth as a human, just a narrow measure of your ability to regurgitate or disseminate specific types of information.
Sometimes that can be useful, but oftentimes it represents a shadow of true mastery, which is deep and intuitive knowledge/ skill in one or a narrow set of disciplines.
Happy, Pretty and Smart
Is there an antidote to this wash of marketing on your mental health, physical health, and educational needs? I think so. Stated simply:
- Happiness is something to aim for, not to buy. It’s a recognition that you should be grateful for and seek things that make you happy for the long term. And accept sadness when it comes.
- Beauty is worth time and effort, but it doesn’t benefit from shortcuts. You have to put in work to look good, either financially or physically.
- Intelligence is less important than some sort of mastery. People pay you because you’re better at something than they are, not for your performance in trivia matches… Unfortunately the university system stays an effective gatekeeper to high paying jobs.
To summarize it in a sentence: work for yourself and your own mental/physical/educational goals, not for someone else’s.
