Its excuses. American capitalism/society gives us endless excuses for why our individual excess and waste is justified because someone else does it too. Then we get more excuses to blame the rich, the poor, the immigrants, the foreigners, the Jews, the Muslims, the africans, etc.
At the end of the day, a lot of Americans say they are one person while their actions prove otherwise. This creates a lot of shame, self hatred, confusion, anxiety, etc. The way Americans self describe vs who their actions say they are is vastly different. Then we blame the rich, the poor, the immigrants, the deep state, foreigners, etc.
"I love the environment" as we vote for a oil baron. "I love animals" as we shove more beef and dairy into our mouths and buy a 3rd chihuahua that poos/pees on pee pads cuz someone can't be bothered to let it out. I'd be confused about who I am if I said one thing and did another.
In modern America the individual can do no wrong. It is always someone elses fault. There is always a scapegoat to let us off the hook. DID YOU KNOW OIL COMPANIES MADE MO MONEY? Keep driving that SUV and buying beef watered in the desert.
You can count on Americans to do the right thing, after we've tried everything else and run out of excuses.
Americans are, according to our own logic, the most beautifully gifted society to ever exist while simultaneously being the biggest victims ever.
The sad part? We all know it and refuse to acknowledge or do anything about it. Its just easier to blame someone else, such as datacenters, or be a victim at the mercy of billionaires, while I get my $7 starbucks mocha. I'm sad, I'll get 2 mochas.
A good example is how people do things in really weird/inefficient ways, such as hand washing dishes or time drying their laundry, despite there being a dishwasher and moisture settings. If this is pointed out, the reaction is often emotional offense followed by "Don't tell me what to do!" Denial. Americans use their uniqueness to justify their excess. We get offended to avoid taking personal responsibility for our actions. Brb I'm ordering the latest funco doll cuz I neeeeeeeeed it.
Americans live simultaneously under Manifest Destiny and being slaves. It's wild. We are the greatest and the most victimized people to ever exist, in our words.
Sebastian Major from the podcast Our Fake History recently said that Americans are masters at branding. That's another way of saying we're masters at lying. To ourselves and others.
*obviously these are generalizations and most people will disagree with me. I'm not wrong. Start to look for it, especially in yourself. You'll see it on both sides of the political spectrum in various forms. It's entitlement all around. Look for it when liberals say "give em a break, life is hard" (excess disguised as compassion) as a person consumes 3x more than is reasonable. Look for it when conservatives say "God blessed this country and the Muslims are invading" as they open up pristine wilderness to resource extraction. They're not much different.
American culture was, quite literally, built on these ideals. This isn't a question of "Do I do this?" If you grew up in the USA you do this to some degree. If you disagree, congrats you're doing it. The question is how much responsibility are you going to take? What excuses are you going to employ? How honest are you going to be?
Powell reservoir (Lake Powell) is about to dry up. How many more burgers and steak are we gonna shove down our faces so we can feel that pride of a steak dinner? How much butter are we gonna slab on our plate as the western US grasslands burn unnaturally thanks to cattle grazing? Nevermind, it's the billionaires fault. Sorry I offended. I'm gonna go like some social media posts that are anti-AI cuz it'll make me feel like I accomplished something without actually sacrificing my excess. I could go without beef or I could complain about AI..... Eh I'll complain about AI, it's easier. I'm also on the carnivore diet cuz self-care trumps the environment and I need 230g of protein a day. (Excess disguised as self care/health.).