America the Sociopathic

We have been told, since the days of Horace Greeley, that our primary purpose in life should be to "get ahead." That the pursuit of wealth and influence was the greatest expression of what it meant to be an American.

They were right. It is.

Therein lies the problem.

The American psyche has become increasingly distorted by this ungentle worldview over the last century plus. While it has allowed this country to become the most powerful in the history of mankind, it has also leeched us of much of our intrinsic humanity. It has made us into a society of sociopaths.

There are three primary characteristics of the sociopath (or more correctly: psychopath):*

1. Boldness. Low fear including stress-tolerance, toleration of unfamiliarity and danger, and high self-confidence and social assertiveness.

2. Disinhibition. Poor impulse control including problems with planning and foresight, lacking affect and urge control, demand for immediate gratification, and poor behavioral restraints.

3. A quality once popularly known as meanness. That is, lacking empathy and close attachments with others, disdain of close attachments, use of cruelty to gain empowerment, exploitative tendencies, defiance of authority, and destructive excitement seeking. This is often a result of the first two characteristics.

The first characteristic is often prized above all others in our society. Boldness, confidence and assertiveness. All are cultivated and valued. Those who possess all three are the most likely to rise to positions of authority in business or government.

The second is an obvious characteristic of modern America. Planning and forethought are valued in the short term (though rarely practiced), but disregarded in the long. Lack of urge control and the need for immediate gratification are much prized qualities in today's consumer and, while not cultivated as such, are not strongly discouraged either.

The last is never openly encouraged, but it is often the most handsomely rewarded. Meanness allows one to rise to the top, feeling little or no remorse over those who have been hurt along the way. Whether as the rugged entrepreneur, the noisy populist, the death defying stunt master or the powerful sports star, the ability to step on your competition without looking back will give a great advantage and there is no downside so long as you succeed.

That is modern America. A place where the characteristics of a sociopath are lauded and rewarded.

This is true in other parts of the world as well, but not to the degree that we see here at home.

We should not look to the pursuit of wealth as our primary activity. Business is a necessary and useful part of society, but only a part of it. Scientists, teachers, police and a thousand other occupations are just as important. Should they be less rewarded than the entrepreneur or the CEO? Is the life of a woman who decides to spend her days helping others less valuable than one who makes a fortune in the stock market? Of course not, but money has become the sole marker of value and one certainly has more than the other.

I have no answers to these problems, but that doesn't mean that they should be ignored. If there is one thing that America does not lack, it is genius and ingenuity.

Perhaps it is time time to bend those great qualities toward creating a society that values more than monetary success.

* I lifted the definitions from wikipedia