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The Slow Death of American Seriousness
The view from the bottom of the barrel.
On April 18th, 2020, venture capitalist, Katherine Boyle, published an article called The Case for American Seriousness.
“Seriousness,” she wrote, is “a fire in the eyes,” and “a ferocity of speech and action,” it is the belief that “God or the universe has bestowed upon you an immense task that no one else can achieve.”
In the post-World War II era, American seriousness took humanity to the moon, it functioned as a military deterrent and an engine for economic growth, it drove innovation in technology and manufacturing, and since the beginning of the 21st century, American seriousness has declined just as rivals like Russia and China got extremely serious about their visions of the world.
Boyle’s essay was one of those rare gems that I couldn’t stop thinking about, even years later. Mainly because it eloquently pointed to something important, but also because I felt sure it had left something important out.
Something that made sense of the political apathy that millions of people feel.
Something that explained the breakdown of our political discourse and the concept of a shared reality.
