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By Michael Snyder,
What in the world has happened to us? Once upon a time, America was made up of tightly-knit communities that were united by family, faith and patriotism, but now we are more isolated than ever before. Of course one of the biggest reasons for this is the fact that we are all spending countless hours staring at screens instead of interacting with real people, and this is something that I covered in a previous article. However, our fundamental beliefs are also significantly shaping how we behave. For the past couple of generations, we have de-emphasized family, faith and patriotism as a nation, and instead we have become an extremely “me-centered” society that is primarily focused on doing whatever makes ourselves happy in the moment. But this single-minded pursuit of individual happiness has resulted in much of the country being perpetually mired in loneliness, depression and/or addiction.
When you look at the numbers, they truly are startling. For example, a recent survey that was conducted by Cigna found that almost half of all Americans feel lonely…
Nearly half of Americans are lonely, according to a survey of 20,000 people across America by Cigna, which used the well-regarded UCLA Loneliness Scale to measure responses. Indeed 46% said they sometimes or always feel alone and 47% say they sometimes or always feel left out.
And other surveys have produced numbers that are even more alarming. A Harris Poll that was conducted a few years ago actually discovered that 72 percent of all Americans “experience loneliness”…
The survey of more than 2,000 Americans conducted by the Harris Poll last month on behalf of the American Osteopathic Association, showed that almost three-quarters (72 percent) of Americans experience loneliness. And for many, it’s not just a once-in-a-while occurrence — one-third said they feel lonely at least once a week.
Of course this is commonly known as “the happiest time of the year”, but for many it just magnifies their loneliness.
People see love, warmth and community modeled in television commercials and in Hallmark movies, and they assume that most people out there must be living lives like that.
Sadly, that is not true at all. What we see on our televisions are echoes of the way that America used to be, and many of us would love to see that type of culture make a roaring comeback.
But for now, America is a very, very lonely place, and this reality is reflected in a song that was just released by one of our most popular pop singers…
Mabel, the singer behind the hit “Don’t Call Me Up,” has a new track for those who struggle with loneliness during the holidays.
Titled “Loneliest Time of Year,” Mabel captured how for some people, the holidays can heighten feelings like loneliness, loss and depression. In the song, released Friday, she sings lines like, “Sorry I’m not so merry/But I feel like this yearly/Christmas time isn’t my vibe/Brings no joy into my life” and “If I’m feeling lonely/I can’t be the only one.”
Yes, millions of American families will gather during the holidays, but way too many of those gatherings are filled with bitterness, resentment, strife and discord.
In fact, another new survey has found that the average American only needs 3 hours and 54 minutes “before they start to feel sick of their families”…
The holidays are supposed to be a time to come together with family and celebrate, but a new survey finds that most Americans can barely get through an evening with their family before needing a break. A total of 2,000 Americans who usually travel to visit family during the holidays took part in the research, and 75% say they will inevitably need to get away from their relatives and indulge in some much needed “me time.”
In fact, it only takes respondents an average of three hours and 54 minutes before they start to feel sick of their families.
This isn’t how it is supposed to be.
We were created to love and to be loved. And when you remove love from the equation, people become very miserable quite rapidly.
In America today, “deaths of despair” are happening at the highest rate in all of U.S. history. The following information comes directly from the United States Congress Joint Economic Committee…
Anne Case and Angus Deaton famously chronicled a dramatic rise among middle-aged non-Hispanic whites since 1999 in “deaths of despair”—deaths by suicide, drug and alcohol poisoning, and alcoholic liver disease and cirrhosis.1 The Social Capital Project has extended Case and Deaton’s research to cover the full American population as far back as available data permit: to 1900 in some cases, and to 1959 or 1968 in others. We present here a snapshot of the long-term trends in deaths of despair. We also attach our full dataset for use in future research, including results broken down by age, sex, and race.
Mortality from deaths of despair far surpasses anything seen in America since the dawn of the 20th century. (The trend for middle-aged whites reveals a more dramatic rise but only goes back continuously to 1959.) The recent increase has primarily been driven by an unprecedented epidemic of drug overdoses, but even excluding those deaths, the combined mortality rate from suicides and alcohol-related deaths is higher than at any point in more than 100 years.
So it would appear that our very unhappy nation is rapidly becoming even unhappier.
And it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what this is happening.
As a society, we decided that marriage wasn’t important. So now we have one of the lowest marriage rates and one of the highest divorce rates in the entire world.
As a society, we decided that children weren’t important. So now our birth rate has dropped below replacement level and a third of all U.S. children live in a home without a father.
As a society, we decided that patriotism wasn’t important. So now the American flag is being banned by some schools as a “divisive symbol” and most of our young people have never even read the entire U.S. Constitution.
As a society, we decided that God wasn’t important. So now just about every form of evil that you can possibly imagine is exploding in our society, and we are literally on a path that leads to national suicide.
If you feel lonely, miserable or depressed this holiday season, I would definitely encourage you to get my latest book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters”. It is filled with very practical advice that will enable you to start turning things around immediately. But even more importantly, reach out to those that you love during this holiday season.
Life is way too short to live it alone.
Society would have us believe that those that have the most money are the most “successful”. But that is not true at all. In reality, those that love the most are really the most “successful”, and so let us endeavor to be people of great love.
Source: http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com
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The bottom line is that we have a bunch of idiot theives running the planet,… & they want most of us dead,… & so that they can have the planet to themselves & for their own enjoyment. They are the reason for everything bad in this world. They never cure any diseases, but they create all of the viruses, all of the harms & everything that will for certain destroy us. These people are simply “evil”,… & they need to be removed. Period.
In life there is loneliness, times to be alone, times for separation- you know, “there is a time for ever purpose under heaven…” Winter is a time to turn inward, not to celebrate wildly. Harvest is the party time, after a spring and summer of hard work.
Align your plans with the cycles of the planet and you will feel happier.
Listen to Don McClean’s song “American Pie”. It presents an important view of one major thing that went wrong in this country and then the world.
Someone please send me a million dollars and I will happily publish a survey that says the exact opposite. Numbers and opinions are very easily manipulated. Every survey starts with a conclusion and works backwards. Say it with me now. Propoganda.
This comment above, Gregg Dampier’s is excellent. It’s also true that many are lonely and have lost their way as Michael says, society is no longer living the life of past years. It’s no wonder because of the way things are run: corporations, govern., health care or lack there of, greater controls, lots of guns, purposeful hate etc.. All stated above in both talks.
Looking ahead, a shift and transformation needs to include all of us as equals coming together in new ways to support, share, learn and grow; to sustain our earth and to create a new and better way – model – plan for our life on earth.
One model is www.auravana.com and there are many ways to come together, however, the system has to change.
Your insights are based on your Judgements and choices of others that are not your own. Not to mention religious bias. Yes better to project back on the citizens with no voice or representation as the problem then look at highly corrupted systems that spend more on the illusion of lack than would be spent to release abundance. Free will is cosmic law. Thew only sin in the universe is to violate cosmic law. The depression you speak of is from people waking up to realize that all the pain and misery is uneccessary. Should ONE feel good when they realize that all the time and money spent to go to school has resulted in wrong history, wrong science, wrong math, wrong economics? wrong healina techniques? No taking inventory of all that does not serve ONE is not pleasent, but necessary. Nationalism or what you call patriotism IS a part of the problem. This is illusion as all beings are Human. They don’t worship GOD? malarkey. God is within every cell in this reality. Every PERSON-ality contains the spark of GOD enjoying experiences. ONE could not stop worshipping GOD if they tried. we are all GOD! hello! The items you are listing here are the same old tired ravings of the controllers they are using these same tachtics to rebrand the republican party now that the demonizing of the Demos has taken effect. Back and forth back and forth like a ping pong match, first the Dems are evil, now the Repubs are evil every 4 years. Now pweople are actually saying Trump is Jesus, or saint Germain or a savior when there is no sign that is true. No change. They reference “Q” as some sort of authority who is draining the swamp never noticing that the swamp gets fuller and fuller. The light does not hide in the shadows behind cryptic clues. You may not know that now, but you will. As I say about Trump, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck waddles like a duck and says… “Hey, I’m a duck!” well then it ain’t Jesus, It’s a duck! ONE can know that there is no difference between the Repubs and Dems, because as much as they say they hate each other and will not stop at anything to discredit the other, The 800 lb gorilla in the room is that the Dems never used the Truth. That the Republicans, George Bush SR and JR are both war criminals for crimes against humanity. Just so you know, not all of us are fooled by the dog and pony show. I watch what they do, not what they say.
Blind obedience is not the answer ever blind patriotism is useless when criminal syndicates run this and most corporations so called governments. Family and faith may help but forget blind obedience, to anyone reading this you know I’m right you also know the battle is beyond country and left Vs right nonsense; What we all need on this planet is True freedom based in natural law or cosmic being if you prefer whatever term you want it’s all the same.
Greg Dampler: Excellent! We will never be happy until we find within ourselves what we are looking for, what we believe was left behind – the God/dess within each of us. And. . . . . other people’s creations, for the most part, hold very little happiness because we are creative beings who spend far too much time trying to impress others. Even sex is spent trying to impress others. If the experience of a sacred energy exchange (S.E.X) was satisfying, you would not spend your life trying to impress others about what you were able to get away with.
We are creators of our own experiences in life and far too often the energy of our creations are lost in seek other people’s approval. Because the experience is not fertile in the minds of others the satisfying energies are lost. Only a few understand this. But good for them. .