The Paradox of America

Battle Between Two Symbols

Fly With the Wind / McCoy Tyner

______________________________

John Fraim

Each day, billions in modern civilization are inundated with a tsunami of information, thousands of times greater than people of ancient cultures. A day of an ancient was filled with information directly from nature. Yet this is so different from today where a day is filled with information directly from civilization rather than from nature. Hundreds of emails, ads, links, videos, music, essays, articles, books, ideas, ideologies, videos, substack subscriptions, online news sources. It goes on and on. Of course, there is also the daily podcasts and radio and television programs and the various movies or series streaming on the various networks. Entertainment. News. Sports. A continual programming. 

It goes on and on and I’m sure readers can come with other pieces of information that distract their days. We’re living in the worst information overload time in history. As such, it is also a time civilization in general has gotten farthest away from our birthing mother in nature and the movement away from it in the growth civilizations, over time. There is a grand arc of development in symbolism from the mother to the father, birth to growth, ancient to modern, nature to culture, feminine to masculine.  

Wholeness to segmentation, context to content, eastern to western cultures, electronic to print media culture. Sound to sight. Broadcast (one way) to interactive (two way). Certainly, eastern culture represents the feminine archetype in the world as western culture represents the masculine archetype. (Interestingly, world exploration has moved east to west and perhaps finally really ended in my birth city of Santa Monica, California with a little sign that reads you’ve reached the end of Route 66.) 

A Mythological Feminine Archetype

The political idea of equality is related to the feminine archetype as Jung would have it. The idea of freedom related to the masculine archetype. The two symbols battle each other throughout history with one rising to dominance at one time over the other. The symbols are meant to cycle from one to the other over time.

However, there was one unique time in history when the symbols were not following their cyclic movement from one dominant symbol to the other. This was something that had never happened before in the formation of a nation: the two great symbols of feminine and masculine were both the dominant founding symbols. The great Feminine and Masculine symbols translated into political ideologies. 

This makes sense since America is something that has never happened before. Perhaps a key reason that has made it great was this founding of the nation at an intersection, bumping together, melding together, alchemy of these two key symbols in the world. 

* * *

In effect, America was founded at the paradoxical intersection of the symbols of equality and freedom. The great battling symbols through history. The pull between community and society and individuality and freedom. America has these two symbols inside more than any other nation. They have created the greatest challenges to America in the battle between the two. The heroes and heroines of our movies. Our media celebrities. Those who speak for us. The politicians we choose to lead us.

At the same time this duality of two founding symbols of the nation – both embodied in all Americans whether they realize it or not. The conflict has created the incredible dynamism and spirit of America. Those on both sides of the political aisles today, would admit this. It certainly goes on today with the current administration. These battling symbols of American history have accounted for the fastest rise to the world leader in the shortest amount of time in history. The world has never seen something like America. The great dueling symbols have played a large part in this. More so than anyone might want to admit.

Each of us, with both symbols inside of us. The symbols in fact related to growth itself with feminine relating to birth and masculine related to growth over time. (Mother earth, Father time). Something had never happened before. A nation founded not on one archetype of masculine or feminine but of a combination of the two archetypes. At the same time like some almost magic alchemical process.

It was a time when both symbols – equality and freedom, feminine and masculine – paradoxically came together at the founding of America. Took symbolic form in the Democrat and Republican Parties, Liberal and Conservative ideologies. 

* * *

Remains there today more than ever in the minds of Republicans and Democrats. The two parties have never been at more extreme. One party has no leader or goal except being against a current president. Is there any star in their future made from their own vision of what they want? Other than their hate for one person? Hate never creates any true creativity or art in the world.

Both of course live in their own media bubbles as is so with all of us today. Based on our actions on the net, we are given a daily information “environment” to match these actions. In this environment, crossing over to the “other side” of media is a difficult process. And too, one few want to even attempt today. 

But I get the dumbest emails in this environment. One moment I get an email from my political party stating that I am an award Gold Donor and in another email there is the threat of extraction from the party or something like that if I at least didn’t respond to the email. I never did. And, I still got emails congratulating me for being a Gold Donor to the party. Someone new needed to take control of communication technology for all party groups. There should only be one official way to donate to a political party with the promise money goes directly to the party and primary issues of the party.

* * *

We move forward not in media bubbles that reinforce views of the world, but also in media bubbles able to squeeze the most information and profit out of us. Part of the gig we sign up for I guess. 

For example, I like a particular television network but I’m tired of hearing one news story as the topic of all news programs through the day. As news breaks through the day, it can be added to a type a overall newscast stating all these events. Then, fed to me later all at one time via some AI system.

What is the real challenge today? To become closer with nature. As Muir or Thoreau might have it. Or, to become more attuned with culture and AI as Musk might have it.

* * *

Context is feminine and content is masculine. And there is certainly an over production of content of the context of the feminine internet. What if one was offered a system through the latest AI that would filter out all the repetitive news of the day and all the stuff not interesting to you personally. As noted in your internet activity of the past five years. 

What if this could be delivered daily to you. Most likely in the evening when most news has happened. Delivered through an entertaining video from a sponsor. All the things you are really interested in. Then others, through your activity that shows you’re less interested in.

But cutting down the time one spends on the Internet might not be something desired by many. In many ways, information overload acts as what is known as dopamine, offering immediate stimulus. Cutting down Internet use, time online, ensures that one will be out of touch with the general pulse of popular culture. And, out of the stimulus of dopamine. There is that constant battle between a member of the community of equality and the gunslinger of freedom who rides into the western town and cleans it out of all the bad men/women.

Something like Shane. (From the movie)

____________________________

PS … We can always use AI created images based around the themes of our posts and will give full name and email and link credit to any one sending materials to us we accept. We encourage submissions from AI artists out there today. We want to promote your work.