“I can’t hurt you. Only you can hurt you.” “It will all turn out right in the end.” “You are only as old as you feel.” We have a real problem in the empire: too many people are socially conditioned to seek easy answers without considering the reality of those responses. In truth, we have probably been trained not to examine information too deeply because of the sordid history of the United States, but that excuse is starting to wear thin based on consistent exposure. The middle class has spent too long in racial and socioeconomically segregated bubbles, and that has severely reduced the potential for emotional and social intelligence to the point where people fail to adjust to new information.
Taking these one at a time, I will start with the ridiculous belief that everything will work out to the good of everyone. Every year in the United States, children die of starvation despite all the previous programs and existing nonprofits specifically geared towards that end. Issues that can be solved with compassion and reasonable profit expectations are continuing because selfish people cannot hear the word “No.” Society worships the most awful people simply because they have eliminated their capacity to distinguish what they observe from what they believe. All of those circumstances do not lend themselves to the belief that everything will make sense and turn out right in the end.
Next, it is time to stop believing that everyone will live forever if they just eat right, exercise, and exert control over everything, including time. Age is inevitable, and if people are lucky enough, they live to see why the decisions they made in the past made a difference for their futures. Between excessive age gaps and a disconnect between what money used to buy, there is no excuse for older people not considering what it means to be older in society. No, one’s adult children may not be able to provide the lifestyles to which a lot of older people may have been accustomed, and yes, the rise in technology means that not everyone will be able to “bliss” themselves into the world they want to exist. There is no way to keep feeding the delusion that one will always be relevant and in power.
Finally, it bears repeating: everyone is responsible for their actions, and just because people think that the entire world should manage their behavior does not make that a reality. Too many problematic behaviors were normalized, and we are all the worse for that. Saying, “That’s just the way I am” is not a shield against accountability, and people who cause harm do not get to hide behind smiles, grand gestures, and selective amnesia to avoid being seen as who they are. Anyone can hurt anyone, and it is not the job of strangers to know how toxic people move and ignore it to help them avoid self reflection.
The empire has devolved into a problematic space that rewards the most dangerous personality types, and that needs to change. Using cliches and numbing oneself are coping mechanisms, not healthy ways of moving through life, and self-sustained lies are not supported by direct evidence. Evolution requires awareness, reflection, and changed behaviors, not using magical phrases designed to keep everyone in an indefinite fantasy.
Chasing A Dying Empire 