new clear family

Do you know the myth of Icarus? The story goes that he and his father had to escape Crete and in doing so his father fashioned wings made of wax. He warned his son to not fly too close to the sun or the wings would melt. Icarus didn’t listen and became enthralled with his power and freedom which, as warned, led to his demise.

It is very interesting to study fatal flaws; whether it be the beauty queen that gets too much plastic surgery to stay flawless, or the businessman who makes money to “get the gal” only to feel isolated because of the pressures that lifestyle brings, or the person who so needs attention that they become a stereotype of themselves, and as a result become a laughing stock. We have always looked at the fatal flaws of an individual, and I started to wonder can a community have a fatal flaw?

Along these lines, about a month ago, Ali and I were having a conversation and he said something very interesting… that America’s only export was our way of life. I wondered if that were true. And, that got me thinking… if it were true; why is it that way, what is the effect of that export and who “purchases” our export more than others?

I think the traditional American ideal started after World War II and peaked somewhere in the fifties. It has changed a lot over the years, having one transformation under Reagan in the 1980’s and Clinton in the 90’s. Essentially, however, the picture perfect America is still the agriculture fields in the green belt blowing in the wind, the family owned diner serving hamburgers, fries and apple pies, the small communities of homes with their well manicured lawns, and the family having an innocent competition to keep up with their neighbors, the Joneses.

We sell this ideal in everything we do… it is represented in our television shows and movies; it is in our print ads and commercials. I would argue it is so ingrained in our psychology that even though living this way is not the norm, when you survey people about their lifestyle, they subconsciously lie to keep up appearances and hold this “truth” in place.

Based on this snapshot, our economy grew. American consumers had confidence in our products and our stock market and our dollar bill, and as a result it grew exponentially and we were able to create an even better ideal. That lead to other countries looking at what we had to offer and investing in our country. They bought our cars and our computers and our clothes…

But at some point, it ever so silently backfired on us. We wanted to make more money, so we outsourced to other countries because of low wages and cheap materials. Unfortunately, what really happened was those countries figured out they could do things better than us; better computers, cell phones, cars, and customer service! And the only thing we knew to do about it was market ourselves even more.

But let’s take a look at what we are marketing by breaking down the picture of America:

Agriculture:

Past: 40% of American workforce is small, family owned farms that raised a variety of goods, earning top dollar. Animals are raised free range, no antibiotics, slaughtered humanely. Farmers could live on their land for year after year, turning out good product because of healthy soil and water, therefore resulting in a healthy product

Present: 2% of American workforce is farmers. Mostly, Corporate owned farms of single corps, with the majority being corn, soy, cotton and canola. The farms that still make our produce are under strict guidelines for what can be produced, down to the millimeter’s allowed for the width of a tomato. Most crops are genetically engineered, need huge amounts of fertilizers and pesticides. Animals are raised in confined conditions, heavily medicated, and inhumanely treated. And, we are creating acres of land and sea that are dead zones. All of which contribute to goods that have almost no nutritional value. Farmer’s are barely living above the poverty line, and the only reason they are not is because of government subsistence.

The Western diet:

Past: The American family sat down to eat dinner which took about 45 minutes to prepare. It consisted of small portions of a meat, a starch, and a vegetable. The family talked, the television was off, and being there was a requirement. The average dinner took 30 minutes to consume. And, even if the family did go out to the diner I mentioned, everything was made fresh to order, portion sizes were controlled, you knew the family who owned the restaurant and knew how it was getting made.

Present: On average, it now takes 15 minutes, at most, for dinner to be made. This is because 90% of what American families buy is pre-made, processed “food”. The portion sizes have now tripled. The average dinner is consumed in 10 minutes. And, the family rarely, if ever, sits down together to eat, thereby limiting conversation and social interaction. Most dinners are eaten with the television on or alone or worse, in their car. Speaking of eating in the car, those family owned diner’s… they’ve all turned in to McDonald’s, Burger King, Carl’s Jr., or the like. The typical hamburger, fries and apple pie averages 1600 calories per meal, you have no idea where it came from and often a machine made it.

The home:

Past: Small communities consisting of individual homes, approximately 1000 sq. ft. The homes were unique and quaint. The neighborhoods were within walking distance to most stores, churches, restaurants and parks. And, most families stayed in their homes for the entire 30 year mortgage.

Present: Suburban communities consisting of 200 plus houses, each house on average 2600 sq. ft. The homes all look the same; have very limited yards and no access to any social centers like stores, parks, or churches. If you want to go somewhere, you must get in your car. The average turn around time of a home is 5 years, unless, of course you have been foreclosed.

The competition:

Past: Keeping up with the Joneses. They got a TV; you tried to get a TV too. The TV lasted 15 years. You got a new car; they got a new car too. The car lasted until you ran it into the ground, got it repaired, and ran it into the ground, again. You invited your neighbor’s over for Sunday BBQ in the backyard. You helped each other out by watching the kids and loaning a mower. You were friends and you encouraged each other to do better.

Present: Keeping up with the Kardashians, or Hilton’s, or Spears, or Lohans, or Ritchies. They have a new outfit on everyday; guess who does too? They drive a Range Rover… guess what your child wants for her 16th birthday? I have said it before, but I will say it over and over… it would be nice if the competition were still between you and your neighbor and not you and some fake, unrealistic television show. This has lead us to be in debt and raised us on principles of disposability. I could go on and on about this, but I already have and you can read that here: baby talk

So, why am I bringing all of this up? So what, right? Wrong. This concerns you because everything in the “present” categories is what we export to the world. We do not export goods and services. We export a life style of unhealthy eating in the form of agriculture with no nutritional value, massive wastes of space called homes, and a consumer mentality that has put us in debt and is quickly taking us into another depression. And, I don’t think we will get out of another depression and become the world leader like we did last time.

When you look at what our lifestyle is doing to other countries, we, as Americans, should be ashamed. We can start with food. We have exported a way of life where fast food is more revered than traditional foods. We are not evolved to eat food that has been processed and pumped full of salt or sugar. We are not supposed to eat simple carbohydrates. This lifestyle is killing us in the form of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Not to mention the indirect effect of not having a structure at home, in which children are raised properly, having devastating effects on our communities. We are now spreading this across the world where Western diseases are popping up in cultures that never had these diseases before… so now some cultures not only have to deal with Malaria, but oh yeah… lower your cholesterol!

Even our food, meaning whole food, has no nutritional value. Oranges are known for being a healthful food because they are a fantastic natural source of Vitamin C. However, our industrialization of our agriculture has created such unhealthy ways of growing oranges, through pesticides and bad soil that we have managed to create oranges that when tested, contain NO VITAMIN C!!!!! Our meat is full of antibiotics and pesticides. And, we encourage the drinking of milk when we, as a species, are not supposed to have milk past the age of five.

We can also look at the items we purchase. I’m not going to repeat my ideas about our consumerism and the downfall I perceive, as I have already mentioned it once. But, what has happened by us wanting more or this, and this, and this, and oh… “of this!”, we have created a need for mass production that is cheap. So, where have we gone? Mainly China, but other Asian countries and India, as well. We have allowed for these countries to forgo, what we consider fair labor practices, by paying very low wages and working people very long hours, so we can have our goods available 24/7 at Target or Wal-Mart. Floods of citizens have entered the cities to take these jobs. And, not because their life was so bad in the rural areas, but because they too want to be able to purchase the same things we want; the clothes, the shoes, the toys, the crap.

I could go on with many examples of how we export our lifestyle and the negative effects, but this is getting lengthy and I have some more points to make.

Obviously, I am going to mention the environment. Our lifestyle does enough damage to our home. And, then, albeit indirectly, we encourage others to do even more damage to live like us. When asked about global warming, a leader from China said, and I am paraphrasing, that yes they are “very aware that global warming exists, but why should Americans be the only ones to benefit from the American lifestyle. We want to live that way too!”

In exporting the American way of life, we have created countries of consumerism, spread disease, and destroyed the environment, not to mention, created death and destruction through war. In all honesty, I do not see much of what we have contributed to the planet.

When you look at the places that haven’t been blinded by our desires, you see countries that have tradition, community, lack of disease, and are, in general, happier. Interestingly, as well, because their life choices are for quality and pleasure, they also have indirectly chosen goals that are a benefit to the environment. When you choose good whole food over McDonald’s, you choose for the planet. When you choose a quality clothing item, or shoe, or what-have-you, that is hand crafted and wins the test of time, you choose for the planet. When you choose the car that fulfills a purpose, not makes you look good to your neighbors, you choose for the planet.

So, why did I bring up Icarus so many paragraphs before? Because Icarus was given a gift to survive, instead he turned it into power, and as a result he created his own demise. I think we have done same. I think we have created this supposed Utopia which in turn is hurting us. Like the beauty queen, we have changed our landscape and become barren. Like the businessman, we have created such an ideal of wealth that we have been isolated from countries that do not trust our policies or our word. And, like the person needing attention, we have become such a stereotype of ourselves as the gluttonous individual that we are the laughing stock of the planet.