Americans are the loneliest, most isolated people

[Sarah Ibarruri]

205. I agree with you. I've noticed that a few here have said they prefer to be alone, despite the fact

that that's not the norm for human animals. Human animals neither survive well alone, nor did they attain this high level of evolution alone. I think the reason for the preference for aloneness was best expressed by a poster here who described what work in this country is like. She said something to the effect that (increasingly) people in this system are trained to be competitive and combative, people are overworked, turned into competitors, and there is no peace. So when one leaves work, one is simply exhausted. Similarly (I think) with the whole society. American capitalism has turned us all into competitors, fighting to survive, and that lends itself to fear, exhaustion, stress, which in turn results in more hiding.

I find that myself. When I've lived abroad, I left work feeling energetic, and looking forward to meeting up with others to talk, have coffee, dinner, even play cards. Here? After work I feel completely exhausted and all I want to do is go home and shut the door behind me, get in the sofa and watch TV to "unwind." No need for me to unwind when I've worked abroad. This has happened to me several times already, since I've worked abroad and here in different capacities at different times.

In any case, that's my theory on why a few people in here claim they prefer aloneness, are loners, want to be alone with their dogs, etc.

I think the theory that school affects people adversely might also be true, since the whole society functions the same way, not just the workplace. What do you think?