The greatest problem in America today is not the debate over gay rights. It isn't illegal immigration, or abortion, or anything else you might see/hear on FOX News. The greatest problem our nation faces today is national egoism.
"Egoism", according to dictionary.com, is defined as "The habit of valuing everything only in reference to one's personal interest; selfishness." When paired with the same site's definition of "national" (of, pertaining to, or maintained by a nation as an organized whole or independent political unit), a synthesis is derived: "a characteristic of a nation that habitually and selfishly assumes that anything happening within its own borders is objectively more important than everything happening elsewhere."
It is important not to confuse national egoism with simple self-interest. It is completely acceptable to take interest in matters of actual importance to one's country. That is patriotism. But to ignore the politics and policies of one's nation, and focus instead on the trials and tribulations of the celebrities of that nation is not patriotism. It is national egoism. Any country is capable of this, but American egoism exists on an epic scale, both on the personal and national levels. If we're not careful, egoism will be the salient national trait for which we will be remembered.
This American self-centeredness has cost us our connection with the other countries of the world. There are real problems that exist in the real world, but when I say the word "reality", the first thing we all of think of is reality television. There's famine across all of central Africa, but we'd prefer not to hear about it right before Extra! comes on at 7/8 pm central. There are children working 15 hour shifts in sweatshops, but that's nothing compared to the call that Jennifer made to Angelina last week! Sure, we've heard something about genocide in someplace called Darfur, but can we really be expected to invest our time and interest into it? I mean: that's happening on another continent. Wherever Darfur might be, Paris Hilton is in trouble again right here in America! Instead of building connectedness with the world at large, we have set ourselves adrift in a sea of inconsequential minutia with the hope of making a safe landfall dimming fast.
While tragic, our loss of empathy is nowhere near as disturbing as the loss of our sense of reality. Our continuing national introversion prevents us from unbiased observation and precludes us from responsible action on the world stage. When our eyes do occasionally stray from Entertainment Tonight, we find ourselves in a world with hundreds of potentially significant events happening weekly, with no perspective, few meaningful points of reference, and little or no understanding of 21st Century realpolitik. We've stumbled into the murder mystery halfway through Act III, insisting we know who the murderer is. This disastrous lack of curiosity has led us to war, time and again – most recently in the Middle East. Ironically, the closest we come to taking real action is undertaking war -- fought for false reasons.
I'm not suggesting we all burn our TVs and join the Peace Corps. Nor do I suggest that we can single-handedly end the world's suffering. I'm just suggesting we're not quite as real as we ought to be. I'm also suggesting that we recognize this as a real problem we face, and we all take real steps as individuals to fix it. What can be done? Anything. Anything real. Try to effect a real change in something. Learn a second language. Try starting a conversation with a visitor from another country. Visit a foreign country yourself. You just might learn that people are people even if they aren't in People magazine. Really.
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