Introduction
Regarding constructive criticisms, Todd Schwartz’s “American Jerk” is an outstanding piece of writing that cleverly identifies the key modern problems of American society. His essay was published in 2008 in the Oregon Humanities Journal to address the Great Civil War. The core narrative does not directly attack the underlying problems. Still, it emphasizes their presence and exposes their twisted, two-sided nature. The central message of the “American Jerk” story identifies pretentiousness, ignorance, pleasure, and comfort as the root causes of all social illnesses in American society.
Pretentiousness
Firstly, one of the most evident issues demonstrated in writing is the pretentiousness of the existing public discourse, especially evident in the political correctness domain within institutions of higher learning, such as universities. The author writes that “no one is ‘poor,’ but many are ‘socioeconomically disadvantaged’” (Schwartz, 2009, para. 4). The given statement is among the best illustrations of how social pretentiousness manifests and harms when addressing fundamental problems, such as poverty.
An expert urges that “political correctness does affect professors and their research in ways that hinder our ability to seek the truth while undermining higher education’s public support” (Maranto, 2020, p. 46). In other words, civility is artificially designed to appear thoughtful through a codification, but with no substantive purpose of helping or solving the issues.
An additional substantiation for the provided interpretation can be seen in the pervasive nature of pretentiousness. It can be described as deep and widespread to the extent that it indoctrinates children from the schools where they begin to learn about the world. The view is further elaborated by the author, who writes that “political correctness holds such sway that holidays go unnamed for fear of insulting or excluding someone” (Schwartz, 2009, para. 4).
Therefore, the artificiality of political correctness disables and impairs a healthy public discourse, where ad hominem is at the core of the social play. The force of pretentiousness is even more powerful because the actors and agents involved are not ill-intentioned; rather, the system is flawed. Thus, the problem with political correctness and pretentious thoughtfulness is unintended dishonesty created by the ecosystem of lies.
Ignorance
Secondly, ignorance and a decline in people’s knowledgeability are both the cause and the outcome of the Great Civility War, where pluralistic ignorance supports the interpretation of the text. The author writes: “My final and somewhat less cutting-edge theory is that many people are clueless, distracted, and self-absorbed, unable to process concepts such as spatial awareness” (Schwartz, 2009, para. 12).
In other words, the public is generally poorly informed about the reality in which they live, resulting in a society focused on frivolous activities. Research suggests that its effects are manifested in pluralistic ignorance, which fuels political polarization and unrest (Sargent & Newman, 2021).
It is stated that “pluralistic ignorance occurs when group members mistakenly believe others’ cognitions and/or behaviors are systematically different from their own” (Sargent & Newman, 2021, p. 1). Therefore, the lack of knowledge and critical thinking makes people and society as a whole pretentiously civil or openly uncivil. Due to the sheer scale of ignorance on a societal level, the affliction cannot be avoided by even the most observant of individuals, such as the author himself.
In order to further defend the provided interpretation, one does not need to look at massive social dynamics since mundane and simple occurrences can also be used as hints. The author states that “when you are walking in the same direction with several hundred people in, say, an airport terminal, don’t just stop in the middle of the flow” (Schwartz, 2009, para. 12). Thus, the sheer degree of ignorance in American society manifests from the biggest and most influential decisions to the simplest acts of consideration for others.
In addition, the author cleverly equates being ignorant with the modern conception of civility, which shows that they are two sides of the same coin, rooted in ignorance. He claims that “I am not here to judge whether being civil and considerate is somehow better than being a mindless dillweed” (Schwartz, 2009, para. 13). Considering the term civility is equivalent to ignorance in the modern context, the subsequent result is a population of pretentious thoughtfulness fueled by ignorance-driven rudeness beneath it. The lack of knowledge about the outside world narrows and shrinks one’s perspective in reality, where an illusion of being self-important emerges, leading to self-absorbedness.
Pleasure
Thirdly, the interpretation can be defended by focusing on mass ignorance as an act of choice, where Americans collectively select being entertained rather than informed and seeking pleasure rather than true happiness. The author writes: “Pick your poison: reality television, slasher movies, video games, online porn, cell phones, automated answering systems, giant assault vehicles for trips to the grocery store” (Schwartz, 2009, para. 7).
Thus, the author lists the wide range of distractions and entertainment activities available to the American public for the sole purpose of staying and remaining in the dark. Research supports the statement, where it was found that “binge-watching can trigger goal conflicts and feelings of guilt, which may reduce well-being” (Granow et al., 2018). Considering a widespread increase in media consumption, it is safe to assume that entertainment, especially in a media format, can be ‘poisonous’ if consumed excessively.
Moreover, one could argue that the innovative and creative spirit is wasted in developing ever-increasingly absurd and meaningless content for pleasure through entertainment. The author writes that “we love to watch TV shows about the stunningly predictable results of hand-feeding a grizzly bear” (Schwartz, 2009, para. 8). The demand for being entertained is large enough to allow the creation of shows with the most obvious flaws in their design, which are evident, yet ignored. He further states: “People lie to others for money and programs where snarky, slightly talented folks say vicious things to hopeful, and usually more talented, contestants” (Schwartz, 2009, para. 8).
Purposelessness and the inanity of people’s behaviors are indicators of an unhealthy society, where civility is pretentiously practiced with zero consideration for others in real life. It is stated that “we’re all talking to someone all the time, but it’s even more rarely to the people we are actually with” (Schwartz, 2009, para. 8). The search for pleasure and entertainment blinds one from reality, where even the closest of people are ignored to avoid missing a second of disillusionment.
Comfort
Fourthly, the interpretation can be defended by looking at a dichotomous degradation of American society due to comfort and convenience-oriented social and economic structures at the core. By reflecting on the past, the author writes that “the first is that America is in the same position as Rome found itself in about 420 CE” (Schwartz, 2009, para. 10).
In other terms, a societal decline and eventual collapse is not a new occurrence in humanity’s history since all great empires have once been affected by these afflictions of comfort over purpose. He further elaborates that he “means that we’ve reached the peak of our civilization and now everything is going to Tartarus in a chariot” (Schwartz, 2009, para. 10).
Thus, the observation is made in regard to the general direction of the American future, where greatness and superiority are lost in the face of the search for convenience. The case is evidenced by the fact that “income and wealth inequality is higher in the United States than in almost any other developed country, and it is rising” (Siripurapu, 2022, para. 1). Therefore, the observations and data support the interpretation to the fullest extent.
Subsequently, the author makes a bigger assessment of the general state of affairs concerning the United States by showing the destructive nature of excessive focus on comfort and convenience. He writes, “we’re too far from our food and energy sources, and fewer and fewer of the Druids and Visigoths like us anymore” (Schwartz, 2009, para. 10).
Not only did the search for and prioritization of comfort undermine American independence and self-sufficiency, but it also made society blind to the attitudes and needs of others. The author claims that “so we desperately cling to a patina of civility while we grab a snack and watch large, toothy predators devour people” (Schwartz, 2009, para. 10).
In other words, the nation is losing what made it great, which is why the society ignorantly and pretentiously holds to its artificially created concepts of civility to emulate the sense of greatness. The political correctness and civility of the modern age are dysfunctional to such a degree that even the most ancient of predecessors would find it appallingly and apparently fake.
Lastly, the interpretation’s validity is supported by the larger degree of mutual disregard of one human being for another. The author writes that “we have never been less concerned about the feelings of anyone with whom we share the road, the Internet, or the movie theater” (Schwartz, 2009, para. 3). The truth is that the fundamental moral and humanistic values of mutual care and empathy were lost in search of self-indulgence and the comfort of not worrying about others.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is critical to note that pretentiousness, ignorance, pleasure, and comfort are the four horsemen of American decline. The first implication of the interpretation is to implement measures of self-control and self-awareness with respect to these four ailments, since positive change begins with an individual.
The second implication is to engage in public discourse, use one’s political power of voting, and observe reality as it is to promote genuine progress, which will make Americans more educated, informed, knowledgeable, and successful. The third implication is to actively protect and improve one’s family, friends, and communities from these four ‘sins’ of social decline, since major shifts in the social psyche must start somewhere.
References
Granow, V. C., Reinecke, L., & Ziegle, M. (2018). Binge-watching and psychological well-being: Media use between lack of control and perceived autonomy. Communication Research Reports, 35(5), 392-401. Web.
Maranto, R. (2020). The truth about the politically correct university. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 52(1), 46-53. Web.
Sargent, R. H., & Newman, L. S. (2021). Pluralistic ignorance research in psychology: A scoping review of topic and method variation and directions for future research. Review of General Psychology, 25(2), 163–184. Web.
Schwartz, T. (2009). American jerk. UTNE: Oregon Humanities. Web.
Siripurapu, A. (2022). The U.S. inequality debate. Council on Foreign Relations. Web.