SOCIETAL PRESSURES

Last night I was talking to Teo. These are the things we talked about.

1. Fun isn't acceptable anymore. Anything outside of work and consumerism is shunned. In the 20s, fun was "cool". Fun isn't cool anymore. It is frowned upon and seen as dirty. America is obsessed with competition and work. Consumerism, meaning going to the mall, shopping, watching television and movies, that is all seen as okay, things that are okay to do outside of work. But dancing, throwing parties, none of that is cool anymore. It is rarely viewed as responsible. Why is America so obsessed with the communal output of millions of busy worker bees? We are never going to be the nation we were. We cannot impress anyone anymore. Quantity quantity quantity. Quantity of work is all that matters. Religion, work, consumerism, competition. Those are the most important ideas in the American id.

2. The worst societal pressure is the need to fit in. If everyone had enough self-respect to feel comfortable socially, we wouldn't create conflict.

3. American men are under a remarkable amount of sexual pressure. Men have to worry about the size of their penis. It's appearance. Men have to worry about their sexual performance and endurance as well as coming across as sexy. Women do not have to worry about anything. They could lie down naked and make a few noises and that is socially acceptable. No wonder 1 in 10 men experience some sort of erectile dysfunction in their lives. Men are taught to be ashamed of their sexuality. Masturbation is seen as dirty. The male form is not acceptable anymore. Rarely do you see the male form as art now. There will never be another Statue of David, certainly not in America.

4. The perfect idea of romantic love is finding someone who loves you and cares about you.

5. There is a stigma against saying the words I love you. Those words carry too much power. If I ask someone to tell me they love me, they should say it whether they mean it or not. They are not words that have to create some sort of meaningful connection. Ideally, everyone should be willing to love everyone unconditionally. I love you can mean so much or not much at all. I've decided to never stop myself from saying I love you for any reason. Fear, societal pressures forcing you to want to fit in, those are the powers that influence you to not say I love you too soon, too late, not at all. If I believe it, if I honestly believe it to be something true, I will say I love you.

I felt good writing this post. I don't know if it means anything.