I’ve thought about it. And it’s not just Trump. I see Trump more as a symptom of the problem, not the problem himself.
The thing is, my values just don’t align with many, if not most other Americans. A lot of Americans are fairly money obsessed. Many Americans are greedy and selfish. There seems to be a culture of getting rich anyway you can, even if it is through unethical means.
I also think many Americans are hyper consumers. The idea seems to be to work and hustle and grind intensely, to make as much money as possible so that you can spend that money conspicuously. Work hard, spend hard, party hard. Indulge, indulge, indulge. Money and indulgence and consumption supersedes relationships and any kind of social connection.
And somehow, for some this money obsessed consumerism runs concurrently with a bizarre form of Christianity, even though those two things seem to be at odds with one another. Don’t get me wrong, the greed and the consumerism are by no means restricted only to Christian Americans. There are plenty of secular or atheist Americans who are plenty greedy, too. It just seems to be in the DNA of the nation. Everything’s money and money is everything.
Americans will say, “there’s nothing wrong with working hard to support your family,” but it’s not just supporting your family, it’s about making enough money to buy a massive house and fill it with stuff, and fill your extra large garage with big, expensive cars and trucks, and all sorts of “toys,” like boats and jet skis and four wheelers, and campers/RVs. And no matter how much stuff you have, it’s never enough. You always need more, or better stuff. That goes way, way beyond just “supporting your family.”
Frankly, I’m exhausted by it. I tried living that way for a lot of years but I don’t have the energy anymore.
Hate to break it to you but America is not the only country like that. Shit id argue American isn’t even in the top 5 for hyper consumerism and classism. I live outside the country and it sucks everywhere
Exactly, there really are not that many places where this isn’t the case. You have to make the choices yourself to consume less and be more social with others. It doesn’t mean you have to abandon your own country to do that.
The thing that bugs me is myself and family not being that way here, but the system that permeates every single interaction starts to clench on you. You’ll be content, but the water keeps rising and trying to take more and more from you.
The costs keep rising, the packages keep shrinking, the wages are always stagnate so you’re supposed to hustle harder, work longer, get another job or clown around for attention or ‘sell feet pics bb’ or whatever other ridiculous hustle just to maintain a basic standard.
For people who see the consumerist rat race for the scam it is, we’re passively and actively punished at every turn.
That’s the part I’m sick of. I just wanna live simply, splurge on hardware every few years, and make videogames.
I struggle to imagine it being different elsewhere. It’d be cool to be smart / valuable enough to be a desirable immigrant to a civilized country. Lol
I’ve thought about it. And it’s not just Trump. I see Trump more as a symptom of the problem, not the problem himself.
The thing is, my values just don’t align with many, if not most other Americans. A lot of Americans are fairly money obsessed. Many Americans are greedy and selfish. There seems to be a culture of getting rich anyway you can, even if it is through unethical means.
I also think many Americans are hyper consumers. The idea seems to be to work and hustle and grind intensely, to make as much money as possible so that you can spend that money conspicuously. Work hard, spend hard, party hard. Indulge, indulge, indulge. Money and indulgence and consumption supersedes relationships and any kind of social connection.
And somehow, for some this money obsessed consumerism runs concurrently with a bizarre form of Christianity, even though those two things seem to be at odds with one another. Don’t get me wrong, the greed and the consumerism are by no means restricted only to Christian Americans. There are plenty of secular or atheist Americans who are plenty greedy, too. It just seems to be in the DNA of the nation. Everything’s money and money is everything.
Americans will say, “there’s nothing wrong with working hard to support your family,” but it’s not just supporting your family, it’s about making enough money to buy a massive house and fill it with stuff, and fill your extra large garage with big, expensive cars and trucks, and all sorts of “toys,” like boats and jet skis and four wheelers, and campers/RVs. And no matter how much stuff you have, it’s never enough. You always need more, or better stuff. That goes way, way beyond just “supporting your family.”
Frankly, I’m exhausted by it. I tried living that way for a lot of years but I don’t have the energy anymore.
Hate to break it to you but America is not the only country like that. Shit id argue American isn’t even in the top 5 for hyper consumerism and classism. I live outside the country and it sucks everywhere
That is unfortunate. I guess there’s no place for people like me.
Exactly, there really are not that many places where this isn’t the case. You have to make the choices yourself to consume less and be more social with others. It doesn’t mean you have to abandon your own country to do that.
I agree with you for the most part.
The thing that bugs me is myself and family not being that way here, but the system that permeates every single interaction starts to clench on you. You’ll be content, but the water keeps rising and trying to take more and more from you.
The costs keep rising, the packages keep shrinking, the wages are always stagnate so you’re supposed to hustle harder, work longer, get another job or clown around for attention or ‘sell feet pics bb’ or whatever other ridiculous hustle just to maintain a basic standard.
For people who see the consumerist rat race for the scam it is, we’re passively and actively punished at every turn.
That’s the part I’m sick of. I just wanna live simply, splurge on hardware every few years, and make videogames.
I struggle to imagine it being different elsewhere. It’d be cool to be smart / valuable enough to be a desirable immigrant to a civilized country. Lol
Well fucking said. No notes