satire writing

American culture.

Does anyone really know what American culture is?

Where did it come from?

Why is it so bad?

Who was it who poisoned America?

It seems as if an important part of American culture is in leaving its people unsatisfied.

I am a decent representation of this. I am a 17 year old dropout. There are many expectations heaped onto me in my life. One of these expectations is to be OK, especially in the school, for if you are not OK, they will send you to the counselor's office where they will write your name down on a list and begin to follow you around the school. If they find you are not only not OK, but feeling a little bad sometimes, they will force you to buy drugs. They will force you to pay for "therapy session."  Yes, you must spend this money or how could we let someone like you into our school? They will say while they pretend to be your friend, except many adults' ideas of being 'friends' with 'troubled highschoolers' is through creepy stalking and talking down in the same way you might do to a stunted elementary student. Overall, the message is clear -- schools don't care about you, they will remove you at the drop of a hat once you reveal your imperfections, because suicide is not the best look for a school. Your right to educational opportunities is less important than the fragile ego of an entire institution.

Thus lies the poison of American culture -- the lie that you are a respected person. People's two-faced attitudes that force you into not being able to trust anybody. The education which teaches you that being walked over on is not only right and admirable. The world which expects you to be part of a "community" of people who see you as less than human because you need to keep up the appearance of feeling accepted and cared for by forcing yourself into an isolating situation. I know that my only place in a "community" is to be used to elevate others, to become the lower class that makes the people around me look more successful in comparison.

When I was younger I used to believe in the equalizer of humans -- none of us had chosen to be born. We were all living and experiencing life together as one. Therefore, we must always hold empathy and sympathy for others. However, it's hard to believe in people who refuse to give you the time of day. You should learn from others, not blindly follow their orders. Community is exactly what is beneficial to a certain group of people, people who would benefit from an America full of drugs and junk food, drug addicts and obesity, weak and powerless people.

In all senses, I can't be mad at the world for not worrying for me, or not bending over to provide for me. The world is made up of no individual. Nonetheless, the same goes for me as well. I am not the world, I am just myself. Is the world truly free if I am not allowed to be myself when I don't harm others and never intend to?

It's unfortunate that I became a high school dropout, but it doesn't seem there was any other direction for me. I know I'm not a good person if all I know how to do is complain. All I know now is that I keep losing opportunities each day from my growing disinterest in the world.

This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this post are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.