The American Decay - SONIA KILLIK

…and the land of plenty.

After a week in the USA, I felt compelled to record my journey—or, more accurately, my astonishment regarding the general population.

I spent my time in the Midwest and won’t be so naively absolute as to suggest that this phenomenon is nationwide (Hollywood and the Military, I know, stands apart), but I would hazard an educated guess that the percentages don't work in their geographical favour. With only 12.5% of all Americans being metabolically healthy, I am confident in my observations.

I’ll begin with the positives: automatic toilets, self-checkout at most stores and facilities, and perfectly groomed streets completely free of litter. Open and friendly people exuded a genuine warmth that made me feel welcome immediately (though the TSA agents could use a bit more humour).

I loved absorbing the sights, the architecture, and the larger-than-life entertainment available almost everywhere. The free museums and public parks made me consider how my life might look if I were to live there.

However, all these amenities and systems supporting the American dream seem to have tipped the scale from first-world convenience to mindless excess. An overabundance that has continued for so long it has burst its seams and is now carried as excess weight by people mindlessly lost in consumption.

For every 1,000 people I saw, there were only a few who the rest of the world would deem 'normal' sized. The remaining portion of the population ranged from overweight to obscenely obese.

Their blind worship of food turned addiction is prolific, where the intake of one’s next meal is encouraged almost on the hour, every hour. Freeways even advertise a ‘food exit,’ complete with fast-food logos right next to the name of the road or area.

Having previously spent time in the USA, I remember the intense craving I felt within a week to eat something that had once been alive and still contained essential nutrients. This time, I felt it within just two days.

It seems America’s economy is built around food. I drove through both leafy suburbs and business districts and struggled to find any businesses other than an alarming number of dentists. But food? Food was everywhere, practically unavoidable.

It wasn’t just my disbelief at the shockingly poor quality and quantity of food, but also at the widespread misinformation that I had assumed would be common knowledge in a Western society by now.

Whether it is a piss-poor attempt to reverse the clearly visible health issues experienced by the population, or if those in charge are genuinely as uninformed as they seem, the attempt at self-empowerment via food labels is falling far short.

Each meal option displayed on a fast-food banner or perched on a shelf had a large and proud calorie count next to it. Theoretically this now equips the general public to calculate their daily intake and manage their health choices.

Sadly, it should not be calories displayed on their numerous overhead screens, but sugar content. In the few conversations I had regarding this subject, I tried to illustrate the difference between 500 calories of McDonald’s, versus 500 calories of protein and fat. A distinction no one seemed to grasp fully.

Like any conglomerate who pays lip service to change whilst smiling behind the security of profit, the addition of caloric information to menus seems a grain of sand in the cosmos when the entire city is dotted with endless refill soda fountains. Literally. Just walk up to one, choose your poison of choice and fill your over-large cup to the brim. Again and again at no cost. With free access to gluttony encouraged and allowed, I cannot see the reversal of health issues changing any time soon.

I witnessed a population burdened not only by laxity, but by an unspoken agreement that it is ok to allow one’s personal decline and consider it normal. It frightened me. Not only to consider how the future of ‘the most powerful country in the world’ will influence the rest of us, but how easily human beings can slip into a version of humanity that celebrates slothful ease over disciplined growth.

Let me revisit my opinion of their friendliness and good-naturedness, of that I will applaud. But I tend to look at human nature and the society and choices that are born from it in the long term. I can easily reflect back through history and trace cultural, gender, political, religious, and racial calamities to the belief systems and knowledge of the times. Policies, behaviours, and systems that were created by older versions of humans we can now say we are ashamed of.

And I can just as easily project our society far into the future and envisage the impact on tomorrow, based on what I see today.

Consumerism has little advantages and too many disadvantages to name here, but environmental destruction and poverty would be high on the list. A culture that salutes excess is heading down a slippery path, and America seems to have bought the wetsuits.

The truth is that healthy struggle creates greatness. Experiencing challenges produces creative genius. The right amount of abstinence results in wisdom and a deeper value system. Human environments need to encourage the pursuit of purpose that contributes towards an empathetic and responsible connection to our Earth and all those that inhabit it. This requires discipline, appreciation for what one has, and a willingness to work hard.

I could easily shift this discourse to the physiology and psychology of the human body, examining how an overweight and underused body struggles with both discipline and labor. But I shan’t. Instead, I’m thinking of the two extremes in our world—Western gluttony and the inhumane prohibitions of the Middle East. A see-saw of opposite expressions, neither of which is sustainable or in the best interest of a harmonious and integrous world.

I see much of our human journey as a blind sprint, lacking foresight into what we are evolving into. We are caught in a relentless pursuit of ease and instant gratification that pushes us beyond the boundaries of mental, spiritual, and physical health. I don’t have all the answers—though I do have many solutions that would require me to be world president to enact. For now, I’ll use the motivation my travels have given me to stay even more vigilant on my own path.

Doughnut? No thanks.