"What is all Knowledge too but recorded Experience, and a product of History; of which, therefore, Reasoning and Belief, no less than Action and Passion, are essential materials?" (Thomas Carlyle)

At the dawn of the 20^th century, America was gripped by a growing lassitude and a sense of foreboding. In the nascent psychological literature of the time, a new "mental disease" was proposed as the underlying etiology of many common medical conditions that included (in a hierarchy proposed by George Beard) everything from dyspepsia, headaches, near-sightedness, insomnia and progressing, at the final end of the continuum, to insanity. Beard’s "American Nervousness" (1881) was considered the definitive text for the diagnosis and treatment of the disorder - termed "neurasthenia" or, literally, "nerve weakness". The epidemic of neurasthenia was postulated by the renowned Dr. Beard to be due to - as simply put by the good doctor, himself - "modern life." He went on to elaborate:

"The Greeks were certainly civilized, but they were not nervous, and in the Greek language there is no such word for that term." He added that ancient cultures could not have experienced nervousness for while civilized peoples can be neurasthenic, "civilization alone does not cause nervousness". Neurasthenia was, quite simply, the direct result of "modernity". To specify, Beard concluded: "The modern differ from the ancient civilizations mainly in these five elements - steam power, the periodical press, the telegraph, the sciences and the mental activity of women. When civilization, plus these five factors, invades any nation, it must carry nervousness and nervous disease along with it."

The popularity of neurasthenia as a "catch-all" diagnosis persisted for decades and was eventually immortalized as "Americanitis" by William James. Dr. Beard proposed that since neurasthenia was - by definition - "weakness of the nerves" - the treatment should be supplementation of the electrical strength in the body. He developed the technique and had quite a lucrative practice with "electrotherapy" - which amounted, fundamentally, to "non-lethal electrocution". Less extreme cures appeared on Rexall ("Americanitis Elixir™" among them) and other pharmacy shelves throughout the nation. Time Magazine reported reported as late as 1925 that the stress of modern American life was the cause of the excessively high death rate among this nation’s citizens. Neurasthenia remained a viable and frequently diagnosed "illness" well into the 1920s when, eventually, the work of Sigmund Freud and others shed new light on dark world of mental illness. They established psychiatry as a legitimate specialty and began to dissect the many and varied causes of what would eventually come to be known as "anxiety neurosis." Neurasthenia fell from favor and the age of the "Id" and "Ego" became the vogue. [Nota Bene: The horror that was World War I may have also had something to do with the demise of neurasthenia as a focus of attention.]

A century later, we seem to be having another epidemic of Americanitis. It may have a slightly different set of symptoms but it is, clearly, related to Beard’s "modernity". At the turn of the 20^th century, the five factors Dr. Beard proposed as the scourge of "modernity" were "steam power, the periodical press, the telegraph, the sciences and the mental activity of women". I propose 5 new factors that are the cause of the 21^st century epidemic of "Americanitis". They are:

With this paradigm shift in the root causes of the new Americanitis, we can easily explain many phenomenon within our nation that have been previously obscure and inexplicable. For example, there has been much speculation as to why the life expectancy of Americans consistently lags behind many countries - both as advanced as the U.S. (Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Japan) and, some, not as advanced (Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, Costa Rica, Cuba). Obviously, if we hold to this new paradigm, the answer is simple: Americanitis. We die earlier than some not due to lack of access to medical care, over-priced or incompetent health care, the sinister machinations of the pharmaceutical industry, or any other socioeconomic factor. It’s just Americanitis, redux.

Similarly, studies clearly show that mental illness is more common in the United States than in Europe. The National Comorbidity Study (NCS) was replicated and updated between 2000 and 2003 and indicated that, of those groups of disorders assessed, nearly half of Americans (46.4%) reported meeting criteria at some point in their life for either a DSM-IV anxiety disorder (28.8%), mood disorder (20.8%), impulse-control disorder (24.8%) or substance use disorders (14.6%). Half of all lifetime cases had started by age 14 years and 3/4 by age 24 years. Contrast these staggering statistics with Europeans. A 2005 review of 27 studies have found that 27% of adult Europeans is or has been affected by at least one mental disorder in the past 12 months. It was also found that the most frequent disorders were anxiety disorders, depressive, somatoform and substance dependence disorders. The difference in the prevalence of mental disturbance between the U.S. (almost 50%) and Europe (27%) is, according to our paradigm, easily explained. We simply are afflicted with Americanitis.

As we contrast mental illness, we can also examine the rash of violent crimes in America as opposed to other "civilized" nations. Japan, Ireland and Iceland have around 0.5 murders per 100,000 people; Americans are among the highest in the world with 5.5 murders per 100,000 citizens. No one enjoys being thought of as "the Murder Capital of the World," but there is a modicum of solace in knowing that we are not killing each other merely as a result of world-leading gun ownership, lax registration restrictions, insecure storage, and the like. Our penchant for killing each other willy-nilly is due merely to rampant Americanitis.

Continuing with our review of crime, according to the always-reliable and never-biased United Nations Survey on Crime Trends, rape occurs in the U.S. at a rate of 32 cases per 100,000; in England, the rate is 22, Italy 4.4, Japan 1.85 per 100,000. We have over 2 million people in prisons in the this country, an incidence of 700 per 100,000 population - both figures far and away the highest in the world. At the risk of repeating myself, Americanitis is to blame, pure and simple.

Mental illness and crime are, at their root level, just a few of the symptoms of the 21^st century epidemic of "nerve weakness." But other symptoms of the disease are even more alarming. We have, for example, lost our national focus, our will and our confidence as a nation. We have, as a direct result of the new-age neurasthenia, grown timid and unsure. Our language and rhetoric, self-censored by a vague pressure we call "political correctness," is soft, mushy and without clear meaning. We mumble a great deal - not so much with our enunciation but in our content and our word selection. For instance, rather than saying the powerful truth that we desperately need to secure our borders and make citizenship privilege to be earned and not a "right" for anyone who asks for it, we say things like this:

"We should reform the immigration system so there is a clear road map to legalization and citizenship for undocumented immigrants who work hard and follow the law. At the same time, we should work with our ally, Mexico, to better control the border and stop illegal trafficking."

Or, this:

"Candidate X believes immigrant workers should have legal protections to avoid abuse and downward pressure on American wages and working conditions. Candidate X believes that we have to fix our immigration system to increase the number of people we allow into the country legally to a level that unites families and meets the demand for workers for jobs employers cannot fill."

The re-emergence of Americanitis clearly seems to have mutated. Instead of disturbing the entire body, it appears to have its greatest effect on the backbone of its victims. With this more pernicious ailment, the disease now weakens not just the nerves but the backbone. The disease seems to be highly prevalent in those who propose to become our national leaders. Perhaps, if adequate studies were done, we may discover a causal relationship between handshakes at campaign appearances. Equally plausible, the frequency of steak-and-caviar dinners one eats with campaign donors and lobbyists could, theoretically, be linked to Americanitis. If well-designed epidemiological investigations were carried out, one might even find that there is contamination of the ventilation system of the national capitol.

Regardless of the vector pathway, our political leaders (is that an oxymoron?) are, evidently, seriously afflicted with this stupefying disease. One only needs to hear their "something for everyone" solutions to serious national problems to discern this indolent disease’s crippling effects on mental power and strength of nerve. On thorough examination, one might also be lead to surmise that the current strain of the Americanitis pathogen also affects testosterone levels. Political leaders, once infected, seem to be reduced to stereotypical "girlie men" - sensitive hermaphrodites who would rather save a woodland owl or protect the migratory trails of caribou than aggressively confront tyranny or circumvent genocide through martial intervention. As I have pointed out, Americanitis has horrible and debilitating effects; boldness of purpose, clarity of national vision and strength of will are its earliest victims.

If Hollywood movies and television are a mirror of the national machismo, we are truly a nation in the throes of a crippling pandemic. To summon the most telling "Tinsel Town" example, envision this simple contrast in imagery: John Wayne versus Brad Pitt. Need I say more? If we choose to pursue this discourse on the entertainment industry, other linkages come into scrutiny. The proliferation of rap music - the 21^st century equivalent of ragtime - has seriously amplified the sense of American nervousness. As the Negro Music Journal wrote in 1903 of ragtime [and paraphrasing for modernity] "[rap] is an evil music that has crept into the homes and hearts of our American people regardless of race, and must be wiped out as other bad and dangerous epidemics have been exterminated. It disrupts the normal heart rhythms and interferes with the motor centers of the brain and nervous system." Ragtime and jazz were much lamented by W.E.B. du Bois in The Souls of Black Folk who saw this form of music as degrading to black people; Al Sharpton - ever ready to leap to the salvation of his race - has begun a parallel, if half-hearted, crusade against the modern incarnation of ragtime/jazz, i.e. rap and its pernicious lyrics. The modernity of the entertainment industry is a fomite - if not a direct etiology - of Americanitis.

So, what is the cure for Americanitis? Regular, mandatory testosterone injections beneath the capitol rotunda? Compulsory "fact finding junkets" for all who serve in Congress - not to Cancun or Hong Kong but to East Los Angeles, inner-city Detroit or Baltimore? "Rest Cures" to work on a farm in Iowa or in a border patrol squad in Arizona? Aggressive electrotherapy with, let’s say, about 400 volts (associated with sufficient amperage) applied to an appropriately sensitive skin surface of all legislators? A national ban on travel to France?

I am just not sure. But, clearly, this epidemic must be addressed. There is much at stake - precisely, our national backbone and courage. The answer, I think, lies in history. We need to diligently study our past - both the bad times and the good. Many have perished for causes that span the entire spectrum of morality and benevolence. Some were ill-advised (War of 1812, the Mexican-American and Spanish-American Wars); others were worthy of the good fight and were won by men and women clearly unaffected by Americanitis (Revolutionary War, World War II). We may have our share of warts and national scars but we also have, in the vast majority of instances, great and glorious triumphs that should always make us proud of who we are. We should read and re-read our history to know from whence we came and re-learn the lessons that our history teaches us. These lessons are there, if only we heed them.

The "now" culture in which we live gives not a fig for the past and that is precisely why there is so much Americanitis - nervousness and apprehension. In truth, we have seen everything, with few exceptions, before. We have lived through and been strengthened by more desperate times than these. Our cities have been destroyed by natural catastrophes before but we didn’t wring our hands or point fingers. We rebuilt and moved on.

History does, indeed, repeat itself. Perhaps, it does so to teach us the difficult lessons that must be driven home by the cruelty of indiscriminate death and destruction. The importance of a national character is among history’s most valued instructions. The sceptics who want us to believe we are too diverse to have a singular national identity are mistaken. We are Americans. We may bicker among ourselves but, when our nation is threatened we have never failed to come together as one unconquerable people. There is a long-lost sense of confidence and a bit of a swagger we should all hope to regain. Without it, we are but individuals adrift in a sea that makes little sense save for the occasional carnal thrill. There is much more to being an American than that, though, in the throes of the cultural and political Americanitis, it is difficult for most to remember.

An old proverb says: "A people without history is like wind on the buffalo grass." From whence these words come down is scarcely known nor is it of consequence. The truth of the words speaks to us regardless of the source. To know history is to know yourself and, equally importantly, to know your nation. When you see America through a historical eye, you appreciate her growing pains and the hard falls she has taken. But what strikes you is the way this sturdy child always drew herself back up, dusted herself off, wiped away her tears and continued forward. America is now an adult. She has a clear, firm voice that speaks to us would we take time to lend our ear to her wisdom. Without this attentive ear, we will continue as a lost, scared and forlorn people.

And, staying on our current tragic path, we will not even remain that.