Nothing that exists can or will be complete as long
as it exists--not even the whole universe. Hence, this thought cannot be
complete, this essay cannot be complete. Not only is everything in process, but
the process will never be completed, as long as it exists.
Given incompleteness and imperfection, is there
anything worth writing about American culture and its decadence, or is it futile
to set forth any thought on the subject? Why bother? Those who experience
American culture as decadent do not need to be persuaded of the fact, and those
who do not experience American culture as decadent or dying would most likely
not be persuaded by words. If one cannot see, feel, experience the decadent
culture in which we exist, as decadent, as damaging to human well-being, then
what can one possibly say to convince them?
What do I experience, concretely, really, that leads
me to want to resist this culture? I see and feel its ugliness, brutality,
untruthfulness, destructive powers. Many of the words I hear spoken are
foolish, or unthinking, or misleading, or (in the case of successful
politicians), deceptive and blinding. When I listen to the President of this
country speak, I virtually nothing to which my mind can say, “That is true.” I
experience from his words a flood of words that raise many questions, befog the
mind from thinking, mislead, occasionally bedazzle by mere cleverness. If this
President is not a sophistic intellectual, perhaps of the Gnostic variety, I
really cannot imagine who would be. And yet, so many follow, praising him as a
“great orator,” as a “political leader,” even as “a genius.” Who is more
foolish, the deceptive speaker or the deceived masses?
The lies and deceptions of leading politicians are
one recurring sign, unpleasant sign, of this decadent society. Other reminders
are even more prevalent: ugly, sick, often angry sounds that get sold to the
masses and elites alike as “music.” When I hear these sounds, I often begin to
cringe, as they immediately cause mental confusion. “American music”--pop,
rock, whatever it is called--is not only enormously mindless, but drowns out
mental peace required for thinking. And that is perhaps one of its purposes.
The main purpose may well be simply to make money, for making money is an
American obsession. This music sells, and makes much money, because it appeals
to minds already debased, fragmented, immersed in utter temporality, without
hints of striving for beauty and what endures. Any sane, sober-minded soul,
experiencing contemporary American mass music for the first time, would probably
assume that it was concocted to cause pain and mental confusion. No relatively
healthy soul would not experience these sounds as sick and disturbing. And yet,
rarely do I hear anyone in this country comment on the sickness, ugliness,
anger, brutality in our music. Rather, it often gets praised as “fun,” as
“popular,” as “invigorating.” Well, as Heracleitos said, “asses prefer straw to
gold.” I would go further: As dead bodies do not experience influenza as
illness, dead or dying souls do not experience this disgusting American “music”
as destructive. An alcoholic, trapped in his or her illness, does not
realize--or admit--the destructive power of drinking alcohol. A sick or
unliving mind does not experience destructive sounds for what they are.
What does the disease of American music tell one
about American culture, and more importantly, about the souls or minds that make
up this culture? First, there are surely a number of folks--mainly older, and
probably away from urban life--who refuse to indulge in this “music.” They do
not listen to it, unless it is blared on TV sets, even during commercials.
(Often when someone is talking on a television show or commercial, this
propagandistic, mind-damaging music blares in the background, nearly drowning
out words.) As for the vast masses who indulge in this music willing: Are they
dead souls, or do they just smell of death? They are decaying, rotting, even if
not fully dead yet. Anyone with a nose can smell the stench of these souls,
these shrunken sounds, and malformed minds, that willingly indulge in listening
to mass-produced “music.” What does the predominance of such “music” say? At
the very least, it indicates a lack of mental development allowing one to
discern ugliness from beauty, ordering forces from those that destroy. What
does this “music” say about parents who allow their children to listen to it, to
immerse their minds in it? Is not this neglect of their children’s right mental
development a real form of child abuse? But then, most of the parents probably
indulge in the same or similar “music,” so they do not have the interior
standards by which to taste, to discern, the poison being taken in by their
children.
Of the decadence of such “music,” and its bad
effects, I could write much more. But let me pass on to other forms and causes
of spiritual and mental disorder in American society.
Selfism is what I call the religion of America.
Most people are, or seem to be, immersed in self, wallowing in self, entrapped
in self. Most Americans--or at least, the political leaders and elites who
speak for and to the masses--are self-referential, self-absorbed,
self-promoting. As typical examples of this cult of self, one needs only call
to mind Bill Clinton or other the present demagogue in the White House. Their
love is clearly for power and public acclaim. They seek at all costs to gain
power and worship by the masses. They are drunk on power, but underneath that
drive is their self-absorption. They will say and do anything to get public
attention, approval, power. These are the wild beasts who not only feed at the
public trough, but who have powerful means to broadcast themselves into
everyman’s life. At the least they are demagogues; at the worst, tyrants. In
either case, these men are American: they embody, express, and further the
American trait of self-worship.
How does selfism show up in the masses? It shows up in the addiction to pleasure, sports, and entertainment: indulging one’s fleeting desires and interests at the expense of mental development. The self that is cultivated is not the higher self of reason and spirit, but the passing self of passions, images, wants, pleasures. As far as I know, most Americans, when not working or sleeping, are indulging their desires for pleasure, evidenced by promiscuity, sexual perversions, addiction to TV and mass entertainment, addiction to sports, even addiction to children and grand-children to an unhealthy degree. I know people who will drive hundreds of miles (even in dangerous conditions) in order to attend some “sporting event” in which a family member is sharing. And they think that such behavior is “good.” Would it occur to them that they could spend that time working or learning, or even getting good exercise out in nature?
Actually, enough said. Thinking and writing about the decadence of American culture is distasteful and in large measure a waste of time. Who could be persuaded that hours spent indulging in entertainment, sports, music, and so on, are largely wasted? Who understands that time wasted is time lost for mental and spiritual development? What good could come from warning men who are playing in a sand-box? Or simply falling to asleep on the edge of a cliff?
