What your Country has Become:
Hello, Tin Can Conservative readers. Sorry, I haven’t posted in a whole week. Mid-terms have kept me pretty busy for the past couple of weeks. I am about to go on Fall Break, so I’ll get back to posting regularly.
Anyways, I recently listened to a statement made by conservative YouTuber John Doyle. While making a guest appearance on another YouTube show, John discussed a fitting metaphor for the United States of America: that is “America, the Amusement Park”.
What did John mean by that phrase? He gave a poignant example in the video by discussing a recent experience of his at a high-end retail store. This store was so busy, that the line to get in extended outside the store. So, John started talking to an employee at that store. The employee mentioned that no one physically bought anything at the store. Instead, supposed “customers” would walk in, look at all the expensive products/displays, and leave. That’s it. No one ever really bought anything. The store sold almost of their products online.
If you take a step back and reflect on this idea, then you will realize how profound the metaphor of “America, the amusement park” truly is!
It might be tough for the Baby Boomers to admit this fact, but America is no longer a serious nation. America is no longer the country that put a man on the moon, settled a vast continent, and defeated some of Europe’s greatest empires (e.g. Great Britain, Spain, Germany). No, we are now the country of drag queen story hour, rampant consumerism, and hedonistic party/bar culture.
As a culture, we care more about getting that “dopamine hit” at the bars or a “sports-ball” match than about preserving our country’s Churches, social organizations, or political institutions.
America has completely become an amusement park. Whether it’s huge sports stadiums, large music concerts, or night clubs, America has become a consumer experience where you have fun, feel good, and “do whatever you want”. Those three elements have become the driving forces behind the actions/decisions of most Americans.
To fix our country, we have to admit that America is an “Amusement Park”. Just like Pinocchio, we have to also deny ourselves of “pleasure island” in order to rebuild our broken communities, families, and Churches.
Now, that doesn’t mean we can’t ever have fun or that complete austerity is always superior. I’m just saying that younger Americans can’t pretend that everything’s okay in America–like the Boomers and Gen X thought for decades.
To close out this post, I will discuss my recent recognition of the American Amusement Park
Personal Experience in “America, the Amusement Park”
For my final semester of undergrad, the metaphor of “America, the Amusement Park” has finally hit home for me.
Now that I’m 21, I have gone to a few of the college bars near my college campus. In my limited experiences at these establishments, I understand how most Millennials and Gen Z-ers (i.e. Zoomers) view our nation. It’s a place to make money, go out on the weekends, and repeat the process ad-nauseam for years on end. That’s the life of your typical American college student at a four-year university.
For instance, I recently attended a concert that my university hosted. The concert’s performer was the hit-2010s rapper/hip-hop artist Flo Rida. Throughout the concert, I couldn’t stop thinking about how America has devolved into an “Amusement Park”.
During the concert, the singer Flo Rida brought on scantily-clad women as back-up dancers throughout the show. He also opened by a bottle of champagne and sprayed some of the students standing next to the stage. The man also was took some shots on stage and sang mulitple songs that encouraged binge drinking and other toxic activities.
My reason for relating that story is not because I’m a prude. No, I was actually laughing during the concert about how absurd things have gotten in America culture where that behavior is socially acceptable. I’ve taken the clown pill because there wasn’t any point in getting angry at this behavior.
So in all, I hope this post made you think a little bit. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to reflect on just how much America has become an “Amusement Park” and what we can do to fix it. I don’t have solutions for y’all today. But, there’s still plenty we can do in our own personal lives to push back against the “Amusement Park” mindset that permeates our culture.