The Global superpower is in fact a Global Underdog

One of the greatest faults of the generation that grew up in the 50′s and 60′s, which now, through Obama, is about to be replaced by a new generation which I call the multitasking generation (MTG) – one of their greatest faults was that they invented the American Dream as an answer to World War II. The American Dream always has been a denial, a negative quality on itself: the idea that ‘Anything is possible, anyone can be anything’ as a life philosophy is so ridiculous, not because it is false but because it’s simply always true, everywhere. Anyone can be anything anywhere in the world. That last part, the ‘anywhere’ is exactly what is missing out of this ‘American Dream’ – according to their projections this very simple idea is ‘only possible in the US’. Let us look at this idea very carefully, because what we see here is incredibly typical; let us imagine a small town where 500 people live, including farmer Johnson, who always teaches his family that only on the Johnson Farm anyone can be anything he wants, while out there, on the other farms, this quality would be somehow lacking.

It is not very hard to see how ridiculous this idea really is. But instead of focussing on how false the idea of the American Dream is it is far more interesting for us to look at why it was a ‘denial of service’ after the horrors of WWII and why, in effect, the American Dream is in fact an expression of the utmost inner uncertainty, of a massive inferiority complex the entire United States suffers from. Let us start with the latter.

America, a fugative state, has always had a love-hate relationship with Europe. Europe represented the Slave Masters they broke away from, Europe represented Law and Order, whilst they represented Freedom and Opportunity. The relationship of the American with the European is therefore primarily the relationship a former slave has with his old master: he ridicules him, but deep inside still fears him. There is a giant inferiority complex hidden in the citizens of the US, which is exactly why they behaved as they did the last couple of decades: no one sane would behave as if he is the ‘cop of the town’ unless he has some sort of complexion that makes him believe that, by behaving that way, he will gain the respect or admiration of the others.

The simple laws of psychology say that anything that needs to be stressed is a signal of disease. In Holland we have a proverb that reads ‘Goede wijn behoeft geen krans’ which means as much as ‘Good wine doesn’t need to be advertised’. The more a person stresses that he is ‘free’, or ‘great’, or ‘admirable’ the more suspicious this person gets from a psychological viewpoint, since anyone who is really free or admirable doesn’t need to tell himself or others such messages. The fact that it is stressed so often points to a process of hypnotism: but why the need to hypnotize oneself, and what is being hidden here?

What is being hidden is a monumental inferiority complex. It is a well known fact that aggressive macho’s and violent people almost always behave operating from such complexes. Because authority, real authority, is calm and serene. When someone gets mad, gets ridiculous, loses his nerves this is a degradation of his authority, you can ask any teacher that. The worst possible thing you can do in class is exactly that. So, in this light, isn’t it typical that ‘the American Dream’, which consists of the most bland of observations one could possibly summarize (Anyone can be Anything) is formulated as the answer to WWII? Isn’t that exactly the great tragedy that took place in the latter half of the 20th Century for which my generation, the Multitasking generation that has its first Beacon in Barack ‘Blackberry’ Obama, must face? The idea that all we need to get by is that ‘Anyone can be Anything’, and only in the US to boot?

The reality is that we are far, very far from even starting to see how this massive inferiority complex is going to get worked out. As long as it is not recognized, it will just get worse.
America isn’t a global superpower. They cant even get a piece of desert under control. They are a global Underdog, and hopefully someone somewhere will find a big enough mirror to show them.

Martijn Benders, Dutch Poet and Writer, Istanbul 24-11-2008