The Super Bowl is the pinnacle of American false consciousness. It’s not as if the Super Bowl is one of the most watched events of the year because there are the two teams have that many dedicated followers. When asked, more often than not, people will tell you that they watch the Super Bowl for the commercials. American people actually make an event out of watching advertisements. Said aforementioned advertisements cost as much as $5 million. Americans care more about television ads than they care about other people. Is staging a catastrophe during the first live commercial really that funny, or even that clever? Apparently, it’s far more interesting than the President of the United States attempting to silence anyone who defies him.

America has two major problems right now: a grotesque sense of nationalism and an unwillingness to engage with other cultures. These problems are not necessarily new, and probably not unique, however, with the recent political climate reaching dangerously high tensions, it is becoming is crucial that we begin exploring this.

The world knows America, but America is not willing to know the world.

With a great sense of nationalism, comes a great sense of entitlement. The money that we earn is OURS and shouldn’t be used to provide education or healthcare to everyone in order to better society. Employment in the United States belongs to AMERICANS even if they aren’t willing to work. The United States of America is MINE and it cannot be shared because this land is my land, from California to the New York Island. In spite of being one of the wealthiest countries in the world, apparently, there’s no room for sharing in the United States of America.

Why is this self-absorption so readily accepted in the United States? Why is the individual valued more than society as a whole? Why is it that we are not willing to give up any of our privileges so that the many of the people living in OUR country can simply rise above the poverty level?

America should not be boasting right now, America should be ashamed. For the oppressors, America could very well be on its way to being great again. And for the oppressed, it was never great in the first place. America is plagued by false consciousness, causing the country to implode into a bloody red, white, and blue heap. Half of the country isn’t even willing to admit that it has problems in the first place. Perhaps because we raise children to pledge their allegiance to our flag every day? And to never question that flag, no matter how wrong the people who carry it are?

Americans aren’t even willing to leave their country, because of course there couldn’t be a better country in the world! We have everything here, from Mexican food to Asian teas. I’ve written about the beauty of travelling before, and about how it can open up your mind. Roughly, only one-third of Americans hold valid United States passports. It is not uncommon for people to reach their 40’s without ever having left the country. Americans trap themselves inside of their borders, and consequently, trap themselves inside of their own minds.

But hey, in a historic comeback, the Patriots won the Super Bowl this year.