> I don't think we have many narratives to get them out of the hole they're in. I believe the US chose this path (by accident) by yielding control to open soci

> I don't think we have many narratives to get them out of the hole they're in. I believe the US chose this path (by accident) by yielding control to open sociopaths (particularly thinking about Trump and how he came to be president), contrary to what would be required to maintain a high functioning civilsation. Somewhere down the line in US cultural evolution the axiomatic acceptance of common good, civic values and middle class society were cast to the sideline and replaced with dog-eat-dog competition and status chasing/signalling. I realize it's a large, diverse country and YMMV, but there's definitely a bad aftertaste. I believe by and large individual psychology tends towards self-preservation and a lot of people must subconsciously feel the gun to their head. No wonder so many are going crazy under the pressure; the online noise notwithstanding (it's a common impression in Germany). And those, who can't or don't want to adapt, decompensate: In Japan they become hikikomori, in the US they shoot up schools (generally speaking): It's a final "fuck you" to society.