The Truth about America
by martinaolbertova
So what the truth about America anyway?
Jean Baudrillard, a French postmodern theorist and one of the most influential thinkers of the past two decades, would say:
“It is a world completely rotten with wealth, power, senility, indifference, puritanism and mental hygiene, poverty and waste, technological futility and aimless violence, and yet cannot help but feel it has about it something of the dawning of the universe. Perhaps because the entire world continues to dream of New York, even as New York dominates and exploits it.”
America is utopia made real. America is the giant simulacrum that has started to live its own life leading an existence independent of others, of the rest of the world. America is a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is why it is so powerful, because it managed to persuade itself and others it just is. America is an advertisement – an advertisement for a happy life and a boundless liberty. America is a myth – that’s why its existence is in and of itself illogical and fails to be explained by any rational endeavors or a simple common sense. Its basis is mythological, that’s why it still manages to survive even though all the rational evidence speaks against it as its current state would in case of any other country be unsustainable. America is not real, it is hyperreal. It doesn’t exist in the real world, it only exists as the simulation of the real. Consequentially, its own existence has gotten more real than the reality itself.
If this sounds interesting to you, here’s the link, where you can find out more about the book: http://www.amazon.com/America-Jean-Baudrillard/dp/0860919781
Nothing worse than an ‘educated’ Frenchman bashing the United States – a country that saved France from Fascism and then helped rebuild it and much of Western Europe. Yes, America has many failings and of course many semi educated people have nothing better to do than to criticize it and then hook impressionable young thinkers like the author of this blog into thinking their social critiques are so smart.
In an ideal world people would criticize less (and that means not selling books about their criticisms) and actually DO SOMETHING!
Anyhow, keep believing what you want – the reality is often different. The Overton window keeps shifting – again!
Thank you for your comment “Sid”, which is not your real name anyway.
However, there is a big difference in between a constructive social critique and a destructive mindless criticism. The author (as well as author of this blog) doesn’t aim to criticize the US, he is only proposing hidden ideological possibilities of seeing the world around us. As well as a piece on America, there could be pieces done on European history or even ideology of other countries in Asia or Africa etc.
I guess from the tone of your voice though, you are interested in the latter one, which is something that doesn’t lead to a healthy discussion or even a dialogue.
And yes, you are right. You should definitely do something (preferably constructive) with your life apart from stalking me and venting on me on my own blog…
The author.
You know what is the most ironic about this one though? That the manner of your comment actually confirms Baudrillard’s critical view on America right there. So in denying it you actually are serving as a living proof that Baudrillard was right when he said something on the lines of:
America has no national identity, or history. It is built artificially on a presumption of individuals fulfilling a dream and thus is consumed by ubiquitous feeling of insecurity and spreading fear leading into aimless violence.
Its people are thus conditioned into this mindset as the only possible becoming slaves to the system having no other choice than to accommodate to this artificially created ideology that keeps this whole heterogeneous entity called American people together. There is no escape cause there’s no history or naturally rooted national identity to fall back on… It’s all just a giant bubble that somehow magically still manages to prevent itself from bursting even though all the rational evidence talks against it.
Funny, indeed. Out of all the people I though you’d be the one who understands my viewpoint on this.
And just for the record, I am not trying to look smart as much as you’re not trying to look violent. We just both are…