There’s something a bit ironic in the attitude of this essay. By the conclusion it seems to suggest the only thing one should do in a relationship is continuall

There’s something a bit ironic in the attitude of this essay. By the conclusion it seems to suggest the only thing one should do in a relationship is continually verify that it isn’t toxic and to find tools to protect oneself over all else…which is when you become the very thing the article decries. America, and slowly global society thanks to the success and pervasiveness of American media and technology, has always been on a hyper-individualistic trend. Nearly all long-standing communal institutions have at best become shadows of their formers selves at this point or have pretty much dissolved entirely. It’s the natural outcome of a society that idolizes individuals through rampant celebrity fixations and continually perpetuates the lie of meritocracy by permitting a wildly unbalanced late-stage capitalism to persist and prop up entrepreneur-celebrity types, which are pretty much the manifest fusion of America’s worst aspects: praising individuals because of their entertainment value and praising individuals because of their capital gains. Unfortunately, social media has devolved into a means for extending this possibility of celebrity to the masses. You too can become successful and wealthy not on any significant merit that actually improves society, but just by being a “fun” personality that posts “content” on social media. No need to be an inventor or do anything significant, everyone gets their little kingdom of “followers”. In America, people who perform selfless, society-serving feats are generally sentenced to becoming footnotes in the public consciousness, maybe being remembered and celebrated for a holiday or so, while the rest of our mental space is occupied by nonsense pretty much 24/7.