Are most people miserable in America?

[Light]

Are most people miserable in America? This can be consciously or subconsciously. Most would answer they're happy or they love it, but wouldn't that be their conscious mind answering but their subconscious could still have them being miserable.

What do you think?

[Contrarian Expatriate]

First you have to define happiness because it means different things to different people. Americans go thru the full range of emotions just like all other peoples of the world. However, I don't think most Americans are content or fulfilled, both of which are more important than the mere feeling of happiness. You see this in the cancel culture, the envy culture, the group tensions for what are essentially crumbs, and the social implosion occurring now.

"Happiness" as I define it comes from being able to have choices and personal freedoms in life. Most Americans cannot just move to where they want. Most cannot quit their jobs and live how they want. Most do not have the health profiles of content people if you view the average waistlines of men and women. Most hate to see others doing better than they are and they voice their displeasure any number of ways.

But it is not only in America, that misery is all over the Anglosphere and fast spreading throughout the rest of the West.

Lot's of reasons for this. Rat race living, interpersonal relationships replaced by smartphone socialization, consumer debt slavery, horrible male/female relations exacerbated by the state, etc.

I also think feminism has turned America upside down to the point where society has been socially uprooted. Women have been encouraged to be masculine and men now want to be more feminine.

[hypermak]

From what I read, it looks like the sense of cohesion and trust that once was one of the trademarks of American society, suburban society at least, is now gone forever. I believe the misery is applicable to both men and women, in equal measure. Unlike some other members I don't believe there is a special discount for women.

The failure of the "American Dream" is just breeding generations of men and women who have the deepest insecurities about themselves and those around them, at the core of their personality. Too much synthetic perfection, promoted by social media with beauty-enhancing filters, too much entertainment to pursue alone (Netflix, online games, etc.) or without no physical interaction with anybody.

It's a massive trend towards alienation and isolation, promoted by an artificial way of life. Everything that hit our brains and our senses, can be created artificially to give us short-term pleasure and satisfaction without real "nourishment": from what we learn at school, to what we eat, see, the places we work at, the people we meet, etc.

Europe is maybe 10-15 years behind on this trend, emerging economies like the Philippines and Indonesia maybe 20-30 years behind, but it looks like they are all solidly on track to end up like the US of A.

Sad times indeed, when what passes for "happiness" is to isolate oneself in a shell of self-indulgent pleasures and self-referential certainties. We will never truly be "free" until we are free to love who we want, where we want.

[Yohan]

Are most people miserable in America? I would not say 'most people' in the States are miserable - many US citizens still enjoy a fairly good life.

However US citizens are now more aware about what is going on outside of the States and realize, that their own country is often nothing but a mess which will result in severe troubles in the near future.

USA is facing a wave of mistrust among its own people and nobody has any trust anymore in the legal system, plenty of violence going on and a huge prison population, there are racial issues, legal issues, medical issues, financial issues due to low income or being totally out of job/homeless and so on.

Hypermak:
I believe the misery is equally applicable to both men and women, in equal measure. Unlike some other members I don't believe there is a special discount for women.

I don't think so. Women in the States have many options, more options for sure than men, are better legally protected, will find much easier support in case of problems.

You cannot compare Philippines with USA in this sense. In Philippines often women are as poor as men, equally poor.

[hypermak]

Are most people miserable in America? I would not say 'most people' in the States are miserable - many US citizens still enjoy a fairly good life.

The US still have very high living standards, so it's hard to find the levels of destitution found in Africa and many places here in South East Asia, including the Philippines.

I think OP was referring to psychological and emotional misery, that inflicted by the continuing sense of inadequacy and isolation.

However US citizens are now more aware about what is going on outside of the States and realize, that their own country is often nothing but a mess which will result in severe troubles in the near future.

It can only be a good thing that people, especially the younger generations who are not as sold to the "kool aid" as the previous ones, are starting to see beyond their borders and understanding that they don't live in the ultimate paradise. That's maybe Soviet-time propaganda and surely it was more the case during those years, the 80s. Not so much anymore, I guess.

USA is facing a wave of mistrust among its own people and nobody has any trust anymore in the legal system, plenty of violence going on and a huge prison population, there are racial issues, legal issues, medical issues, financial issues due to low income or being totally out of job/homeless and so on.

Exactly. Lack of trust at every cell: the immediate neigbhourhood, the community, the local institutions way up to state and national level. As I read, it looks like noticing what's going on is only one third of the solution. The other two thirds are knowing what to do to effect change and actually do it, or at least try.

Even if the local police department will be totally underfunded, the governments will surely find a way to disarm people, so that the only way to "solve" their misery will be more isolation and more alienation in the virtual world of beautified selfies and massive online gaming.

Hypermak:
I believe the misery is equally applicable to both men and women, in equal measure. Unlike some other members I don't believe there is a special discount for women.

I don't think so. Women in the States have many options, more options for sure than men, are better legally protected, will find much easier support in case of problems.

I have always believed that women have different types of existential problems. We men may have a problem finding quality women to start a good relationship with, or the burden of paying the lion's share when supporting a family, and lose half or more in a divorce. Women have the constant burden of conformism, peer judgment.

Plus, no government-sponsored feminist system will ever erase the fact that women are largely powerless, in case of serious social disruption. If things do turn to the worse, as they might in this "new normal", most women will have to revert to becoming partners, wives and moms and respect their men, else they will be literally starving on a street corner, or brutalised by a gang. I don't say this lightly but, as in the past few months, I have been reflecting about the worst case scenario and a Mad Max/Hokuto no Ken post-apocalyptic situation may be not as far away as many want to believe.

You cannot compare Philippines with USA in this sense. In Philippines often women are as poor as men, equally poor.

Of course, @Yohan. If the parameter is only economic poverty and social opportunities, almost everybody is equally poor in the Philippines. Yet, as your foster daughter might testify, Filipinos as a society are one of the most resilient in the face of real hardship. Life often hits them as hard it gets, yet they always find reason to smile and keep hoping. And they breed like rabbits!

[WisconsinMan82]

I'd say at least 80% of Americans spend their entire lives just going through the motions and doing effectively what they're told to do and that's it, and never truly find fulfillment in life. From age 5 until age 66, we spend our entire lives in school and/or work, doing what other people tell us to do for no reason other than that they tell us to do those things, and we all mostly conform to the same archetype of personality because that's what's "socially acceptable" in America and everyone who doesn't fit into that mold is "weird" or "creepy" or "autistic".

[jamesbond]

Consumer debt, rat race living, horrible relationships between men and women (US has highest divorce rate in the world) are all factors in making most people in America miserable.

[kangarunner]

I would say that most people in the US are miserable but may be completely unaware of it even if they are doing well in terms of money and status. I would say that the value system or what is most valued in America is wack. Because most Americans value Money and Status, they are constantly driven to get more money and more status, which is basically the "rat race". You can have money, power, status but still be miserable, but it will be a comfortable misery. hehe

I think the misery or unhappiness comes from exactly what @Winston pointed out, which is lack of authentic social connections and that the environment in the US does not have a high level of social cohesion.

I've lived outside of America for 4 years, and looking back I feel like Americans in general are very selfish, greedy, overly individualistic, and overly focused on achievement.

If I had to choose, I would choose Vietnam or Thailand any day over America to live the rest of my life. I've made some real friends here just being myself without having to "act" or "impress" anyone. That's how it should be.

[HappyGuy]

However, I don't think most Americans are content or fulfilled, both of which are more important than the mere feeling of happiness. You see this in the cancel culture, the envy culture, the group tensions for what are essentially crumbs, and the social implosion occurring now.

Jan 26, 2021
When Cancel Culture Cancels Everything | AwakenWithJP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sKX2Gk7eFY