As seen through my eyes: American Culture

I have noticed it for some time: the degradation of American society.

Over the last 20 years or so this degradation has showed itself every few months. Events like the Columbine shootings in 1999, the Virginia Tech campus shootings in 2007, the Branch Davidian Cult massacre in 1993, and the Northern Illinois University shooting in 2008 are just a few of the mass murders which have garnered national and international headlines by our country over the last 2 decades.

This year, in particular, there seems to be many mass murders, shootings and uniquely violent events, and this weekend the mass murder of 8 people in south Georgia and the discovery of missing person Jaycee Dugard in California who was missing for 18 years have lead me to ask once again: what is happening to our society?

Why is American culture crumbling around us?

With this past weekend’s events fresh in my mind I have chosen to post something which I wrote some months ago when dwelling on the “state of American culture” today...

There was a time not too long ago when it was easy to identify exactly what encompassed American culture. A time when other cultures wanted to be just like ours: hard working, free, democratic and full of accomplishments. But, in less than 50 years, what was once the envy of the world has become a relative laughingstock on the global stage.

Crime and corruption across all professions, socio-economic and ethnic boundaries lead our national newscasts, while a generation of suer’s and suees point fingers and attempt to place blame on others for actions which they refuse to take responsibility for and for which our Federal Government says they shouldn’t have too.

The ideology of political correctness is being forced down our throats and is segmenting our once great society. No long are we all “American’s”, part of the once great melting pot that was our society. No, now we all have to be “African” Americans, “Mexican” Americans, “Asian” Americans, or some other of a countless hyphenated, watered down version of an American.

Along with the loss of domestic cultural identity, this period of being “PC” has brought with it an unsurprising lack of international cultural feats.

The last great national cultural accomplishment that America and lay claim too which had global significance was that of landing a man on the moon in 1969. Since that time we have done nothing else culturally while nations such as China, Japan, Brazil and all of Europe (to name a few) have produced cultural and technical feats with a global impact; and all the while, we in America can’t even unite well enough to decide how and what to replace the fallen World Trade Center towers with so as to help wash away the scars of 9/11.

Even worse are the things today which are said to define American Culture: American Idol-the “reality” TV show with its back landed slap in the face via the fact that more people cast a vote for its winner than in our presidential elections; our economy, which thanks to American Corporate greed, helped lead the global recession; and our sports leagues and organizations which, no matter how hard they try, cannot seem to get rid of the specter’s of cheating and crime that permeate through them.

American Culture? Where it is I sure don’t see it.

Sure, ethnic groups have their own sub cultures, but the largest of these-the “African” American’s-is so narrow minded that it fails to see its own self destructive nature.

If there is an American Culture left somewhere that would make me stand up and be proud to be American again then somebody please let me know because, as an American, I am tired of hanging my head in shame to be called an American over the embarrassment at what my once great country as has become.