Americans have found all kinds of ways to feel powerful without ever actually becoming powerful in the way democracy envisions.
We use urban vocabularies, outrageous fashion statements, body inking, jewelry, and weight training to set us off from the mainstream.
We hearken to advertising jingles like “There are many versions of you,” and “It’s your world.”
We set off fireworks on patriotic holidays to mimic our powerful men of war. We attend church to learn we are chosen above all others.
We attend TV game shows, buy lottery tickets, and borrow money hoping to become economically strong.
We transform morbid obesity into a “big and beautiful” statement, turning a poverty of health into a bonanza of pretended personal power.
We engage in pop psychologies like resiliency to explain the fact we survive one disaster while ending up at the doorstep of another. We convince ourselves we are “community strong” after horrible events that are often the result of individual and collective weakness.
We riot in the streets, deface buildings, loot property, buy guns and shoot up crowds, all to establish our power to disobey laws and control society.
We commit suicide when we finally realize our personal power is empty and is just an advertising-inspired mirage.
Is it possible we can do better as a nation?
Kimball Shinkoskey, Woods Cross