Stop acting so surprised
By: Susan Larson
Tags: Society And Culture, American, Coronavirus, Trump Administration

This is the American way

Is the bad behavior of Americans during this time of distress really all that surprising? Americans are simply behaving like Americans. We’re a country of independence, of looking out for number one, of I got mine — screw you.

We expect people to make it on their own. Pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Look out for themselves. Don’t expect a handout.

In a country where the homeless are blamed for homelessness, poverty is blamed on the poor, the have-nots are derided and shamed, what else could we expect? Of course people rushed to stores and emptied the shelves. They are doing things the American way.

The shock we’re all feigning over this behavior is what’s disingenuous. Americans with tremendous privilege, generational wealth, and resources to spare — I’m talking to you celebrities — are shaming those who are just doing what they’ve been told to do. Be independent. Be self-sufficient. Be strong. Be AMERICAN.

Really, how could we expect people to behave any differently? They see the privileged class do it all the time. Government bailouts to huge corporations that turn around and use our tax dollars to buy back stock and pay CEO bonuses while laying off employees and cutting benefits. That’s about as American as it gets. CEO’s raking in multi-million dollar bonuses for slashing wages and running unions out of factories. That’s the America I live in. Gigantic corporations generating unprecedented profits and paying no taxes, providing no security for employees, and polluting the planet unchecked. That’s the American way.

And we pretend to be shocked by a run on toilet paper. Please. The behavior is bad, no doubt. But just about everything in this society we’ve built reinforces it.

We idolize people who make a living selling us crap we don’t need on social media. We vilify people working at McDonald’s who argue for a living wage and healthcare for their families. That’s American.

We send money to preachers who say that God is watching and will reward us with riches of our own. That’s American.

We empty store shelves with no thought to our neighbor’s needs or wellbeing. That’s American.

We elect officials who vote to send trillions of dollars of our money to their billionaire buddies with no accountability, no rules and no transparency. That is American.

We make a ruckus over using plastic straws while turning a blind eye to decades of corporate malfeasance that kills people all over the globe. That is American.

We stand in line wearing recycled shoes and $500 jeans to get the latest iPhone, even though our current phones continue to work perfectly well. That is American.

We spend and accumulate debt and work harder for a shrinking piece of the pie. That is American.

We believe a huckster who lies straight faced, demeans the weakest among us, looks out for himself first at all times, and laughs about it all shamelessly, because we believe that is the American way. Americans want to be like Donald Trump, not like Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren or Barack Obama. People don’t want to be of service. They want power over others. They want superiority. They want privilege. That is the American way.

Some of us want to believe that the American way is something else. We want to believe that our better angels prevail. We want to believe that what’s in my neighbor’s best interest is in my best interest. We want to believe that we look out for each other and care about each other. We want to believe in fairness and good will. We want to believe that we are not motivated by self-interest and fear and greed.

We can want to believe all we want. Wanting doesn’t change anything. The truth is right in front of us. When we refuse to see it, we are complicit. When we only acknowledge it in times of tragedy and scarcity, we are complicit. When it takes a run on toilet paper to open our eyes, we are to blame. But we’re behaving in a pretty American way too. Knowing better but not doing better. Talking a good game but not making any sacrifice. Focusing on public relations and image building in lieu of anything substantive. That’s all pretty American.

We have created a world where Jeff Bezos, reality TV, Wall Street billionaires, and internet influencers represent the new American ideal. We worship at the feet of these idols. And it is certain that if they were in our shoes, if they were scared and poor and worried for their family, they’d be emptying the store shelves too. People are just behaving like those they admire. They are being Americans.

So stop complaining about Americans behaving like Americans. We are them. They are us. We’re all the toilet paper hoarders. It is what America is all about.