Consider America's Future

Preface:
December 19, 2009 Alexandra Valls was faced with a difficult decision. It was a lonely Thursday night accompanied by the draft of a broken window, the glow of freshly hung Christmas lights and the deliciously lazy dinner of 7/11 snacks. This Thursday Alex would skip out on any youthful regrettable college outings. As rumor has it, her English final is the next day.
Previous to this romantic little circumstance, Alex went to purchase the one book she had yet to read. At Borders she spent 20 minutes deciding on which version of Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka she would buy. She finally settled on a copy not by the name of Metamorphosis, but by the name of Transformation. This unique little detail delighted her.
So, that night, on December 19 2009, Alex read Transformation by Franz Kafka, where she cried as a result of the tragedy of poor Gregory. But thats besides the point, she realized something while submitting her weeks tired brain to cable-- she had her magazine submission and English final essay due on the same day, Monday, a couple of days from then. The girl never knows what she has going on. She scurried to her bedroom to look for the exact description of both submissions, when to her glorious dismay she magically, very magically, actually found the paper that would describe her English assignment. Her eyes lit up at the sight of lucky number three. Warm relief calmed her flustered self as she thought....

Oh baby oh baby oh baby, (suddenly religious) Thank you Christ our Lord. Option number three: write your own Mutant Novella; the best option ever, especially when the professor assigns you David Foster Wallace “Consider the Lobster” as your first read of a course titled “Mutant Novellas.” A class about books like "Animorphs"; the books the weird and nerdy kids would buy at the book fair (could've been me). The cooler kids bought the posters and book marks for flinging at those nerdy kids (could've been me too). All kidding aside, the title is misleading. Here is my Mutant Novella. Its not so much a developing story, but more of a developing thought complied of various tangents that lead to my final developed , yet naturally ever developing thought. A true story? The truest. Practically unfiltered from my reality that is my brain. How is this a novella? Well, its the story of today and its development for tomorrow. Please, feel free to pity the erroneous subject matter that floods my mind on an hourly basis.'



Thursday, December 17, 2009:
I am currently watching television at 2:08 AM on a Thursday night, slothfully reducing myself to that cheap infomercial crowd, which goes well with my Tostitos and “con queso” breath. But I have not yet even bothered to change the channel because, well because the writer of Chicken Soup for the Soul is promoting his compadre's book: Advertising Profits From Home by Anthony Morrison, followed by The Hidden Millionaire, “how your inner wealth can become out outer wealth.”
The writer of Chicken Soup for the Soul is promoting Anthony Morrison. Thats really nice, thank you. I will now set my Chicken Soup for Teenagers on fire, and render my ideology to my new found goals and aspirations of one simple idea that is quick, get rich! Because as we all know, a diamond is forever. But how will I make this money? I refuse to buy into some self-proclaimed millionaire's philosophy, so Il just fabricate my own. First, I will pawn my soul for money in the same shop Bernie Madoff sold his. I probably wont get as much money for it as I will in other pawn shops, but I am willing to cheapen my worth knowing I got the same money from the same place as Madoff himself. I wont invest it in some pyramid ponzi scheme, which at first seems brilliant. Everyone keeps getting richer, does it even matter where the money is coming from? No. As the cheeky writer that I am (my Facebook statuses and tweets r off da chain yo), I will write my own book on the foreseen successes of that book, entitled How to Get Rich Quick by Writing a Book on How to Get Rich Quick . After selling myself to nothingness and making a profit on a book about nothingness, I may feel empty. But because I am now quickly rich, I will show I am quickly rich and I will feel quickly rich. I will buy whatever I want and satisfaction oh satisfaction will fill my soul with unnatural designer bags and wrinkle removing ointments. I do not feel too good. I should write another book about investing your new wealth to the reinvestment of more wealth. This time I will divide it into three easy steps in a DVD, therefore all self-chosen illiterate Americans also have a chance of becoming wealthy. As Americans, they too deserve to be rich. I see how Rosetta Stone has marketed itself, thus naturally the second book, which relies on the accoutrement of the first book, will be twice the price for the consumer. And as for me, four times the profit, due to a cheaper publisher who outsources their labour from India and paper and DVD from China.
“Money please, money please, soul please” -The New Radicals. But, umm whoops, I just sold my soul for the money, now what? Conveniently, I have now become a slave to the money... then I will die, as predicted by The Verve. But my death depends on the type of health insurance coverage I have, of course. If all else fails, do you think Medicaid and Obama's new health plan will cover idiocy and priorities lost-syndrome? I mean I think that was the point of it, right?
Is this where America is heading? Money hungry citizens? I was hanging out with my neighbor and his friends who are either Boston College graduates or wannabe yuppies. One friend was shamefully speaking of his sister's college studies and life endeavors thereafter. The way these guys laughed you would think she had chosen to be a stripper. But no, she was studying the respected field of photojournalism. They thought 'what a waste of time, there is no money in that.' Then I realized, to them, becoming a stripper, despite the drop in dignity, is return on investment wise, a good solid future. I am not referring to white trash, ill- informed, ill-treated, ill- feed, and ill-conceived Americans. These guys are, if not already successful, going to be successful. Finance, Business, Hospital Management, Hotel Management, and all these other majors basically synonymous to money management, will lead them to their bright futures illuminated by dollar signs and trophy wives they are yet to meet, because why would any women want them now, all moneyless? I sat there, smoking their pot, listening, observing and thinking 'what did your parents teach you?' However, I know the answer. They have been taught the thought of money and money is success. Their mindset of viewing life in terms of profit is better referred to by Karl Marx in The Communist Manifesto, as “egoistic calculation.” These guys are a vehicle to which consumerism and coerced capitalism breeds off. Yet, they are the same guys who will be in charge of the breeding. In other words, they are vehicles maneuvering vehicles. Very similar to a tow boat pulling in a freight ship. Crap, those freight ships are significantly larger, and the oil spillage is detrimental to our environment. I can talk to them, tell them to read Stuart Ewen's All Consuming Images, or underlay the argument of the book subtlety making them feel like fools who've been fooled. But they are far too individualistic to care about the larger issue of consumerism, modern industry, the exploitation of workers world-wide, the exploitation of consumers nation-wide, and the meaningless value in the value of money. Plus, why would they read that when they can be reading my get rich quick book (order now and get a second free “recession proof” copy!) According to Ewen, their lifestyle is a product of their society which creates “American nervousness.” The expectations and pressures to succeed haunts their delicious dreams as opportunity surrounds them in America. Their indifference to the meaning of the system they intend to advance in is narcissistically, not surprising. They yield the similar attitude of those who hear about Darfur, and think “What does that have to do with me?” To their point, nothing really, besides the fact that we are all human beings and share this world together. What if I said we were all born in the image of God, and we are all brothers and sisters regardless of differences? Well, these post modern day individualist know that religion is for the poor and dying.
If capitalism continues to be our leader, then I guess it wont matter that my Chicken Soup for the Soul has now been turned to ashes. I'm depressed thinking about the outcomes of a society empowered by that frame of thought, oh wait a minute, we are the living outcome of a society empowered by that frame of thought. And the obscene displacement of money and entangled loss of values seems to perpetuate amongst the collectively uncollective majority. The United States has made their capita by individualist perseverance. I think therefore I am...able to make money! The United States welcomes all those who are willing to put aside their family, friends and passions and replace it with materialism and the freedom to attain that materialism. And then, it wont matter what our friends and family think of us, because then we will be rich and everyone will be happy. CNN informant and contributing writer of Newsweek, Fareed Zakaria firmly believes America's current “downfall” has more to due with the downfall of ethics and moral code. Which subsequently, leads to the rise of dirty business and dirty business with dirty politicians ( no sexual pun intended, but yes that too) then shaking hands with dirty communist. Alright, so maybe he did not exactly verbalize those thoughts as such, because good politicians also shake hands with dirty communist. I respect the field of politics, but I cannot say I believe in it. I am depressed thinking about the outcomes of a world empowered by politicians with personal agendas, oh wait a minute, we are the outcome of a world empowered by politicians with personal agendas. Of which, is coerced by the personal attainment of power through business for politics and politics for business. I do not want to believe that because America has economically collapsed, everything else has collapsed as well.
I would like to believe we live in a country with a secular government from the religion of money we seem to all follow. However, everything I have ever truly believed has proven to be a social construct put in place to keep us submissively active and tolerable citizens. I guess that is fair? Perhaps to those who acknowledge the potential control our government and big business have in our lives and decision making, or lack there of. For example, not everyone is quick to realize the brainwashing implications that exist in believing in Santa Clause. When I found out about Santa Clause, at the embarrassing age of 8, I said to myself, 'well then there is no way Jesus exist either.' And just like that, both my belief in Santa as the children's leading authority of consumerism, brought to this earth by Jesus as the leading authority of goodness, to impose and then reward my socially standard idea of goodness in a wrapped box of mass produced toys, made especially for me by several young and severely oppressed strangers with the help of massive machines causing massive pollution, was over. Eleven years later I find myself awkwardly standing out amongst a crowd of Business students, but seemingly getting by in designer clothes handed down to me by both older and younger siblings. These educated men and I come from similar backgrounds. We have wealthy parents, we received higher education, we have access to connections to have access to more connections we did not have access to before. Yet, we are very different. What have I been doing that has made me this way, or better yet, what have they been exposed to? Within this “norm,” there is diversity. I choose to be that diversity. And there lies my freedom. But for those who are too naïve or apathetic to recognize their predetermined attitudes from the organization and stratification of society, it becomes their entrapment.
These “business” guys, they are not cool. They are not creating, they are not molding. If the world was left to them we would all become China, and would have to rely on the power of outsourcing technologies to find a new America and sell our 'made in earth' goods to those no name creatures from Mars. But we have to keep our labour mad cheap because otherwise they'll start trading with Jupiter, who word in the milky way has it- is not even a real planet anymore, consequently making their material incredibly inexpensive and practically impossible to compete against.
If anything can be taken from this anecdote is that our society is becoming increasingly individualistic, unrealistic and uncaring. Are we overexposed to the harsh realities of the world outside from us, rendering us hopeless in our struggle to change it? Are we desensitized? We choose to live blissfully indulgent on our own pleasures because we think, 'why waste my entire existence trying to save someone else?' I cannot speak for the majority in saying they think this way. But I do know that I have thought this way. I think this way every time I feel lazy. It is true, our world is shaped by our own personal world. However, in our world today with globalization, modern technology and a plethora of forums for communication connecting one corner of the earth to another remote and desolate corner, we no longer lead a closed and private existence. This global community has become our community. It is very frightening. Now the idea of exploitation for our own satisfaction is not acceptable. Now we can see that exploitation had a face all along and to continue contributing to the scrutiny of that sad face, is just wrong. Wrong, remember wrong? It is easy to ignore the problems of Iran, particularly because external media is not allowed coverage of the state, but social networking and technology does not allow for that kind of ignorance. Remember Neda? I do, CNN made a hero out of her. Her death by protesting for her rights was captured by a video camera then uploaded and shared world-wide through Facebook. Americans are not ready for this. As a nation, we can barely bother to acknowledge the violence Chicago's urban youth faces on a day to day basis. We cannot comprehend the struggles of border crossing Mexicans, nor wholly understand the horrors of mafia traps their drug run country faces that leads them to flee their homes for what is known and shown of America. America cannot understand the placed embargo on their ignored and neighboring country, Cuba, to the current partially lifted embargo of Cuba. In case anybody cares to visit a destroyed and communist Cuba, some of us can now fly there directly! And for the most part, our stance on Canada is a laughing joke. Umm yeah guys, jokes on us now a days. The boundaries of our life are ever expanding. But it seems to me that our mental capacity to care to understand or even notice, is still self-limited. Aside from the appropriation of these cultures for their aesthetic value in art (as post modern conglomerate displays of our era), the significance of the cultures and the extended world surrounding us goes unnoticed. If we all chose to open ourselves to the world around us it might lead us to be flabbergasted from a mental displacement that is puzzling and depressing.
I would be generous in giving most Americans the benefit of the doubt to even have considered the option of making the decision to be ignorant. We have been breeding ignoramuses for a while now. And research can attest to this, as ratings for reality television that stimulate our minds solely on shock value relying on disgusting and unnecessary circumstances that are better off left to be photographed by David Lachapelle, are on the rise. What does our television watching say about ourselves? Is it irrelevant or is it effecting us? Well there is that obsession with celebrities, materialism, beauty, transformation, fame, and neomania (to fetish the new) all giving into the aforementioned problem of consumerism- which can also be referred to by machine-like capitalistic warriors as the cure to overproduction; the cure to a running industrial society. Nevertheless, consumerism has taken a low path. How pathetic are we as a nation to sell more tabloids than newspapers.
Our culture is increasingly becoming obsessed with superficiality. Superficiality of our materialism results in superficiality of ourselves. Our hair, our nose, our breasts, our skin, our muscles are even superficial. Because really, why else would I do 500 sit-ups before bed every night, if not for my banging six pack? We are all victims of self-objectification. In our society we believe we are self-made. This lends ourselves to the idea of reformation. The reinvention of me. If celebrities can re-invent themselves, then I can too. This crowd is another vehicle of society. This crowd feeds off the media it intakes and then regurgitates it, giving back a bastardized version of the bastardized reality they see. Obsessed as they are, some are aware of the frivolities of their devote following, while others are blindly submissive to its meaningless cycle. I understand that there is low culture, but this culture is not just tasteless, it is unhealthy and absurd. These people are not cool. These people are neither positively changing or reprioritizing what they value with any moral substance. If the future relied on them, we would all be guest on MTV's “I Want a Famous Face.”
As citizens of a society comprised of far more than just celebrities and brainless distractions, a higher awareness of those other things is expected.

Saturday, December 19 2009
Day two of writing this paper; hangover; realizing it is a Saturday in December, I want warm weather. I have given my brain some rest and took Friday off as I was busy “preparing for the Holidays,” and then went out “celebrating the Holidays.” And now my brain needs more rest that ever. At 3:30 pm I finally got up to shower. Ate some breakfast. Did a lot of cleaning. Went online, looked at photos from last night, indulged in my narcissism. It is now 2:47 AM and I am watching HBO's on demand documentary ( not up to date enough yet to know how to properly utilize the phrase “on demand”) on Heidi Fleiss, “Hollywood Madam.” It is eye opening! Six points on the film in regards to myself. 1.) I, at one point of my life, have decided I will move to the Western Frontier 2.) I genuinely admire Fleiss for jaded and sympathetic reasons. 3.) Whoa these isolated Westerns are surprisingly well spoken, leading me to further confirm the (statistically based) notion that the most uneducated people in America is our black youth population. 4.) I hope I will never become addicted to drugs. 5.) This documentary makes me want to believe in reincarnation 6.) I am so glad I do not believe in reincarnation, “ I am not a religious person, but I do feel I carry the soul of someone who was exterminated in a Nazi prison camp,” -Heidi Fleiss. To add on to point three, CNN informant on US education was recently on Anderson Cooper 360 very seriously addressing the issue of education in the urban cities. The high degree of illiteracy and the lack of verbal skills to communicate effectively is serious cause for concern. Something must to be done. How is it that such an essential skill and part of living in a modern and wealthy country, having access to free public education, results in the staggering statistic of these urban city kids? And then they wonder why the violence breeds. Very differently from our business graduates, their future is grim. They are neither vehicles nor leaders of society. Their oppression and lifestyle is a result of a societal flaw, neither directly intended nor directly apprehended. Good solid leaders are needed. They're influenced by perverse notions of happiness idolizing ideas of American success that lack any substantial value. Hey politicians, hey parents, hey educators, this is not enough. If the rest of our country were to be as neglected as them, anarchy resulting from violence and poverty would be the inevitable demise of our nation. Education reform is necessary.
Lets consider the largest minority, the increasing Hispanics comprising 15% of the US population (45 million). With twice the growth rate of the general population, one quarter of the population is predicted to be Latino by 2025. Does the increase of heterogeneous mix lead us to be more tolerable or intolerable? From my own observation, being Hispanic myself (Cuban, in fact), I predict a warmer America in its acceptance of diverse people and their differences. Representations of Hispanics in mainstream culture has become more and more popular in our media. A trend of “Latino revival” has taken way amongst Hollywood celebrity types and other generation Latinos who now feel free to identify with being Hispanic. Much of American culture is becoming influenced with Hispanic artists and moguls as well as politicians, lets not forget about the controversial Sotomayor. Although there is no doubt that the stereotype of Hispanics as gardeners and maids still exists; just as much as it does for Asians as math and piano geniuses. The Hispanic market and general market are becoming more integrated and less distinct. However, the traditional culture amongst Hispanic families compared to the increase of individuality and materialism in American society are very different. For young Hispanics, women especially, the tension between traditional family values to their acculturation of America creates a large disconnect probing depression. According to a survey conducted in 2007 by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of high-school students, one out of every seven Hispanic teens have attempted suicide, more than any other racial group. Conflicting issues of tradition, education, family oriented values and lifestyle, religious backgrounds, and American individuality result in the divide. Either the Hispanic population will learn to become more American, or America will become more Hispanic. The emergence of a culture that is patriarchal and anti-feminist, will only result in a digression for American progress. However, the emergence of a culture that is family oriented and that obtains strong community values, would be something our increasingly divided country could benefit from. The new generation of Hispanics must learn how to bridge the gap between home and their American lifestyle, while retaining and contributing key positive cultural elements to American society.
Of course, I have not justified America by simply outlining a couple of groups and issues that could potentially arise if these groups were dismissive, consequently dismissed as non-threatening. The real threat are not those who are in control, but rather those who submit themselves to abuse of that control. Trends, culture, beliefs, the arts, can all sweep in from any which direction and change our attitudes. To control those in control is not viable. We can only control ourselves. In our capitalistic society there will always be marketers closely tracking our human behavior and appropriating it as consumer behavior, leaving us weak in our struggle against consumerism. One is to be wary, especially with todays technological advances, where Google has our online search history, Yahoo has our e-mail, Facebook knows our friends, Itunes knows our music preference, Stumble Upon knows our interests. The amount of information that can be used for or against us is incalculable. And this information can be easily sold to the hands of the right or wrong people. Regardless, I personally think (and I will say what I personally think, because I have freedom of speech) that it is safe to say that the government and media have, of course, used this form of information to sway and manipulate our opinions and feelings. But to act cowardly against it and allow it to happen may perpetuate government's unnecessary and contrived omnipotent disposition in our lives. The point is, the only real threat lies within the apathetic submissive attitude America is beginning to face. The lack of awareness of diversity, divide, and loss of unity will be what prevents any social reform from evolving. And this apathetic attitude is prevalent. No progress, no post modern post anything can fully take swing unless something is done.
The future's progress relies on those who are ready to move forward and advance in the right direction. The age of responsibility is on its way, but it must be lead by those who are educated, open minded, passionate and privileged. Yes, privileged. Let us stop pretending that those in the middle class are as equally able to reach the American standard of success, as those in the upper class. Instead of further exploit, neglect, and concern themselves with the attainment of the superfluous more, those who are privileged need to take responsibility. Those who are regarded as leaders, as being lucky, bright, or set need to redefine success, redefine the norm, redefine what is “cool.” Reconsider what we know as American ideals, and reconsider the real effects it has on our resources and our people.
Those post modern post whatever Americans, who filter and 
control their intake of everything; who 
look at a situation for its problem not judgement and are concerned 
about the nature of their own human nature; who are educated and well read; whose blogs have no face; who acknowledge more than arts within a culture; those Americans who feel overwhelmed by our rapidly growing and changing society; devoid of all meaning in life. This group may reach the point of feeling hopeless and useless in their mental and subconscious exhaustion. This group of Americans are critical, 
bewildered and anxious. It is 'American nervousness' from the amount of exposure of one extreme idea to the next counter radical idea, from 
one consumer driven society to war torn developing countries, from Switzerland outlawing minarets to those following Stephanie Meyer. 
Finding a balance becomes a mental struggle. This group must not succumb to the nihilistic attitudes and behavior their surrounding circumstances yield of them. Although their personal enlightenment may lead to the kind of depression one acquires after reading Freud's Future of an Illusion, there is hope from it as it can lead to the enlightenment of others. This is the group of awareness. This group knows, and it is for this group as leaders that the other groups can be recognized to eventually strive. Alone; if the world was solely left to to this group and their pessimistic outlook, we would all become existential melodramatic hipsters. But if their knowledge is used for the advancement and progress of the problems that jade and desensitize their hearts, then tomorrow might be a pretty hopeful day in America. As Freud did say in that dreaded page turner, Future of an Illusion, “For masses are lazy and unintelligent.... It is only through the influence of individuals who can set an example and whom masses recognize as their leaders that they can be induced to perform the work and undergo the renunciations on which the existence of civilization depends.”
You have nothing to rebel against; your life is made? Become a voice for the others. Social networking awaits its most influential usage yet; an avenue to awaken reform. Communicate change. Be inspired by the arts, or inspire the arts. We are living in fickle times where people may become vulnerable to what seems like life saving revolutionary ideas (not now socialism, down Dianetics, no thank you Charles Manson revival). Desperation becomes the atmosphere dangerous gangs, cults, and far too radical ideas manifest. Those blinded and affected by oppression need guidance in reaching civil equality. If there is need for a revolution, let it be the proper revolution.
Whatever changes may come, how ever internally or globally distraught an enlightenment may render us, we can adapt. From the constant change in fashion, music, globalization, technology, our generation has become a malleable generation. For once, let us mold for the better. And a side note to the movers and shakers of the future: Please do not define yourself by money, and please do not define yourself by the denial of money. They are both equally offensive and artificial. Try to bring back poetry. Embrace wood and nature, and the nature of the morning wood. Do not abuse neither wood. Do not reprimand all television, but do reprimand all its abuses. And also, yes Ferrero Rochers are in deed orgasmic.