But “the underbelly of suburban America”—one can go on and on about this. And it is definitely at the core of what I am considering in “that daily dynamic.” The weirdest thing to me is that so many people here in America seem to acknowledge the creepiness that can come with suburban life but openly pursue and perpetuate it nonetheless. Now I’m not talking about healthy neighborhoods. What I’m talking about is what happens when folks get enough money, get a family, get a house, get a car, etc., like “everyone else” and conclude that because of this success, what they think of the world must therefore be correct, no matter what it is.
I know of specific individuals who (or did) abuse, molest, terrify their children with lies, commit harmful crimes—folks who “know” that Earth is only about 6, 000 years old, folks who make major decisions based on superstition or astrology—all of whom have giant suburban homes with the boat outside, swimming pool, etc., and have BBQ’s right across the street. THAT to me is the creepiness. And it leads to decay and ignorance. I think that all of this still comes from a post-war (WW2) mentality in which no one wanted to look at anything at all unpleasant. And it also comes from an economy which values only how well someone is trained as opposed to what they know. But there is so much written on this topic.