Do Americans Know What a Massive Ripoff American Life Really Is?

[thucythucy]

199. Our "toys" are part of the problem.

Take cell phones. The "service" is, IMHO, outrageously expensive, but is now no longer the luxury it once was. It is now a necessity because:

landlines are constantly, incessantly, annoyingly spammed. Even though I'm on every no call list available, I still get ten to twenty calls a day from people either trying to sell me shit, wanting me to contribute to their cause (charities for police are a biggie) or are simply wanting to rip me off. So much so that I never answer my land line, ever, unless I know precisely who is calling and;

public pay phones are now non-existent. I don't think there's a working pay phone within ten miles of where I live. Probably more like fifteen or twenty. So what do you do if you're out in the world and have an emergency? You use your outrageously expensive cell.

Which are marketed to us as if their miraculous powers are the key to a happy life. Oh joy! I can buy shit on line where ever I am! I can take selfies or photos of the last crappy meal I ate and post it on a website that also tries to sell me shit or pushes right wing conspiracy garbage or leaves me vulnerable to identity theft or more offers of rip off. Not to mention: my boss can reach me where ever I am! O rapture!

And then there's all the "lawn maintenance" crap so many are into. My former neighbor, with a less than quarter acre plot, has a riding mower, a leaf blower, two weed whackers (one old, one new), and told me a few days ago he "needs" to buy a power washer to hose down his 1000 square foot house every year, which is the latest "keep up with the Jones's" scam sold to us by our corporate masters. And those who don't have the time to play with their own toys hire "lawn maintenance" firms to come by once a week and spew their petroleum for them.

As for the rest of it--I agree with everything you said, and yes, it's all getting worse.

If only we as a culture could get past all this "USA #1" bullshit. I've had people laugh in disbelief when I describe the way my German family lives, and everything they take for granted. The stance of so many Americans these days seems to be one of willful ignorance--as if the debunking of the delusion that we live "in the greatest country on earth" will strip them of the one remaining consolation getting them through their endless days of mind-numbing struggle.

Well, that was a rant! If you've come this far: thank you for your patience, and best wishes.