Betas, why are Americans unhappy?

[crazedrat]

Because what we strive for has no real value. It's either an imitation of value or a leeching of value. People feign value to justify leeching it. When this goes to the extreme you have something like an emotional banking crisis. No one has anything to offer worthwhile and everyone is trying to suck it from everyone else.

[Jimbean]

Because what we strive for has no real value. It's an imitation of value. Easier to achieve and control but less fulfilling, to the max. Also it requires you feign value to justify sucking things dry.

I agree with this. Except I will also add that many people do not clearly define what they want and then stand for it.

[crazedrat]

I agree with this. Except I will also add that many people do not clearly define what they want and then stand for it.

No, the instant fulfillment of sucking something dry is more appealing than the long term struggle which ultimately leads to what's valuable. People know this, they just choose to be leeches. Or phonies. Not much of a difference, really. A phony may try to pretend they're above all this, but they just spend alot of time securing a jugular to suck on. They want to make sure no one can step in and rid them of it. Leeches though.. they taste the blood, but it doesn't satiate them.

[Jimbean]

No, the instant fulfillment of sucking something dry is more appealing than the long term struggle which ultimately leads to what's valuable. People know this, they just choose to be leeches. Or phonies. Not much of a difference, really. A phony may try to pretend they're above all this, but they just spend alot of time securing a jugular to suck on. They want to make sure no one can step in and rid them of it. Leeches though.. they taste the blood, but it doesn't satiate them.

This is true for one segment of the population. Many people are also unhappy because they wonder aimlessly through life without plans.

[Fetal Ray]

Advertising is completely integrated into the American lifestyle and how we understand the things around us. You can’t go anywhere without being sold something, even if it’s some vague idea of a better life. We’re certainly not the only country with a very powerful advertising industry, but it’s so well integrated with the landscape that it’d be difficult to mentally fight it off. It seems like when you’re a part of something unique and meaningful, the context of that group/movement/discovery/creation changes when the media latches on to it. I recently visited my sister in San Francisco and we went to the famous Haight-Ashbury District. Oh maaaaaan! The area is so expensive and the only way you can really experience it’s history is by buying a bunch of pseudo hippie bullshit in the shops. When I visit relatives in Wyoming or Utah , I see a lot of stores that sell the idea of freedom or the “Wild‘’ West. I don’t know how depressed Americans truly are but we definitely live in a “fakish” society that can sometimes make us feel detached from things. I guess this goes along with what crazedrat was saying.

[jughead]

we sold out man, we fucked up

[squark]

we sold out man, we fucked up

good answer.

discojoe: I think you could have just as easily asked, "Betas, what makes YOU unhappy" and gotten almost the same answers. I'm happy, but I know what makes me unhappy, and it is the same no matter where I live, or what conditions I'm living in. And I know how to change it, because I have.

But, if you want something that is just for America, jughead really says it best.

[Park]

I'm happy, but I know what makes me unhappy, and it is the same no matter where I live, or what conditions I'm living in. And I know how to change it, because I have.

I'm curious, how do you solve a problem when you can't envision a solution? Or do you always know what (you need) to do in order to resolve the issues that upset/make you unhappy?

[tire iron]

Many people are also unhappy because they wonder aimlessly through life without plans.

I hate plans. I try not to make them.

[silverchris9]

Because what we strive for has no real value. It's either an imitation of value or a leeching of value. People feign value to justify leeching it. When this goes to the extreme you have something like an emotional banking crisis. No one has anything to offer worthwhile and everyone is trying to suck it from everyone else.

I like it.

I prefer to say that there's a lot of It in life, if It is what everyone is looking for. But most things are compounded of It and Not-It, and people tend to focus on the Not-It. So the key to being happy is finding some things that have lots of It and very little Not-It, and then focusing on the It-y parts of substances that are compounded of shadow and flame (I added the shadow and flame part so I could satisfy your artsy requirement). We look for It in celebrities and actors and musicians and artists because most celebrities actually have quite a lot of It, even if they're not any happier for having It. People are more happy from appreciating It than from having It, I think. But then again, actors and musicians are very happy for the brief and wonderful moments when they're in It. Poets are people (whether they write or not) who find It everywhere. Have faith in It. It is Life. It will set you free. lol.

Strrrng's answer is also very good.