At the heart of the American empire is a gem, and each generation’s goal is to find it
This gem isn’t a physical one. It’s a spiritual gem. And with each generation, it’s buried deeper. Underneath layers of “should” there’s a “why”. Once we find the why, we can work our way back up and figure out what needs to be change to keep the thing going.
There’s an idea to be found.
Our current government is sclerotic. It’s brittle and nonsensical. We’ve got right wing anons speaking of RETVRN. We can all feel that whatever it is we have, it’s not the American dream. We live under the crushing load of expectation.
People hope that finishing college will be their ticket. Some say work for work’s sake. People are hoping a lover or a job will save them from their current malaise.
Expectation is death.
We want to afford to own our own home, but the home is buried with the gem. Men want to feel useful and needed, but many are also unemployed, lack direction, and psychologically crushed under expectations. Women are crushed with the expectations of motherhood. Not only are we not living up to our potential, we’re not even living up to our expectations.
We watch movies about zombies. We fear the apocalypse. We fear AI. But aren’t we the zombies? We should be careful to not become part undead machine, and part lost soul.
We can get ourselves out of this, but we have to give up the past while also drawing out the oldest and most central ideas to what makes the American project work in the first place. Expectation is sediment. The gem is buried deep.