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The American Dream convinces people loneliness is normal

english.elpais.com

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Re: The American Dream convinces people loneliness is normal

#11

I spend so much of my time intentionally trying to cultivate community. In some respects, it is the over-arching theme of my adult life. I find community is very hard to come by so if I have to be the one to make it, so be it. I pay a pretty penny to be a member of a coworking space so I don't spend my workday alone. Three times per week I go to regularly-scheduled events (a game night, running club, and roller-skati…

"Entrepreneur of friendship"... love that.

Re: The American Dream convinces people loneliness is normal

#12
While I am not a fan of American Exceptionalism, I think this article is more informed by the usual European prejudiced tropes about America than by reality, at least in the parallels between the traditions of rugged individualism from the Old West and the present epidemics of loneliness.

The old Cowboy was based on self-reliance, he was not a loner because he couldn't connect with people, but because his adventures lead him far beyond the spacial confines of society. He was a master of his element but felt at peace and integrated with nature.

The modern loneliness is born out of o alienation, learned hopelessness, lack of concrete agency on one's life, and extreme subjection of the individual to an all-encompassing (some could say even totalitarian) social-economic-cultural system that gives him no other choice than being a loner. Where the cowboy choose to be left alone when he wanted, the modern loner just can't find a place to be him/herself in modern society. It is the tragedy of utter powerlessness.

And it is kind of ironic that this comes from El Pais, because for all the external appearance of happiness and permanent joy that seems to characterize spain for a tourist, Spanish society is also extremely atomized, and behind the facade of an easy life, most upper and middle-class Spaniards I've met there seemed to live a very artificial lifes devoid of any long term meaning or sense of transcendence.

Re: The American Dream convinces people loneliness is normal

#13

I spend so much of my time intentionally trying to cultivate community. In some respects, it is the over-arching theme of my adult life. I find community is very hard to come by so if I have to be the one to make it, so be it. I pay a pretty penny to be a member of a coworking space so I don't spend my workday alone. Three times per week I go to regularly-scheduled events (a game night, running club, and roller-skati…

You sound like you live such a rich life, I love it!

Re: The American Dream convinces people loneliness is normal

#14

I spend so much of my time intentionally trying to cultivate community. In some respects, it is the over-arching theme of my adult life. I find community is very hard to come by so if I have to be the one to make it, so be it. I pay a pretty penny to be a member of a coworking space so I don't spend my workday alone. Three times per week I go to regularly-scheduled events (a game night, running club, and roller-skati…

Do you ever struggle with giving more time to specific friendships/relationships you want to cultivate more, at the expense of others?

I find when I focus on a group, usually it also comes at the expense of focus on the individuals, and the people feel less close. Unless I put a lot of focus on the group over time, then I usually get to know the individuals depthful enough, but not as deep if I had spent that time with just two or three of them instead.

Re: The American Dream convinces people loneliness is normal

#15

I spend so much of my time intentionally trying to cultivate community. In some respects, it is the over-arching theme of my adult life. I find community is very hard to come by so if I have to be the one to make it, so be it. I pay a pretty penny to be a member of a coworking space so I don't spend my workday alone. Three times per week I go to regularly-scheduled events (a game night, running club, and roller-skati…

"Entrepreneur of friendship"... love that.

logged in to say the exact same thing!

Re: The American Dream convinces people loneliness is normal

#16

I spend so much of my time intentionally trying to cultivate community. In some respects, it is the over-arching theme of my adult life. I find community is very hard to come by so if I have to be the one to make it, so be it. I pay a pretty penny to be a member of a coworking space so I don't spend my workday alone. Three times per week I go to regularly-scheduled events (a game night, running club, and roller-skati…

Greatest decision I ever made was getting a remote gig, leaving the big city, and moving to a small town. There is enough going on here to keep busy, and everyone knows eachother.

Would never dream of raising my kids somewhere like SF. If you want community, go somewhere it's valued. Everyone in the big city is a transient, only there to make money and find love before it's time to head for the suburbs.

Re: The American Dream convinces people loneliness is normal

#17

I spend so much of my time intentionally trying to cultivate community. In some respects, it is the over-arching theme of my adult life. I find community is very hard to come by so if I have to be the one to make it, so be it. I pay a pretty penny to be a member of a coworking space so I don't spend my workday alone. Three times per week I go to regularly-scheduled events (a game night, running club, and roller-skati…

You’re not alone so hang in there cause I feel like there’s a wave of others coming!

We need a way to coordinate local mutual aid groups that isn’t just some backwater forum but doesnt just default to a corporate slack or something. I guess Mastodon would be good here?

Re: The American Dream convinces people loneliness is normal

#18
"the contours of American society — that emphasis on individualism, that spreading out with impunity over a vast, sometimes outsized landscape"

I hate to be boring enough to ask for citations, but this is a case where we really need them. It reads like something written by a non-American.

In most of American history, people lived close to their families. Certainly in smaller towns, they did. Once there were big cities, it became more common for someone to move away from the family and go to one, but that certainly had nothing whatever to do with "spreading out with impunity over a vast, sometimes outsized landscape." People who "spread out" to the frontier nearly always brought a spouse with them, and often kids as well.

Recently, there certainly has been an increase in one-person households:

https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2019/comm/one-...

but even in 1969, it was only 16.9%. I would bet that in the time of The Searchers it was way, way less.

Re: The American Dream convinces people loneliness is normal

#19

No it doesn't. The American dream has always been about bringing the family unit up with you as you ascend, because for most of this nation's history, it was impossible to achieve any real success without the help of family members around the home.

As a gay person that will probably not end up having a traditional 'family unit' in my lifetime, I question whether or not the family is enough to stave off lonliness. I see a lot of nuclear families that spend what I think is a toxic amount of time with each other. To be able to thrive we need to be a part of a larger community, not just codependent on a spouse. Even worse is when I see people hanging all of their hopes and happiness on a child. When a mother says that their child is their best friend, I don't know if I should worry more for the mother or the child.

Re: The American Dream convinces people loneliness is normal

#20

I spend so much of my time intentionally trying to cultivate community. In some respects, it is the over-arching theme of my adult life. I find community is very hard to come by so if I have to be the one to make it, so be it. I pay a pretty penny to be a member of a coworking space so I don't spend my workday alone. Three times per week I go to regularly-scheduled events (a game night, running club, and roller-skati…

Greatest decision I ever made was getting a remote gig, leaving the big city, and moving to a small town. There is enough going on here to keep busy, and everyone knows eachother. Would never dream of raising my kids somewhere like SF. If you want community, go somewhere it's valued. Everyone in the big city is a transient, only there to make money and find love before it's time to head for the suburbs.

Wow - I moved to SF, found love, and moved to the suburbs… but I’m still working on that money part :)
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