Therefore, to be possess'd with double pomp,
To guard a title that was rich before,
To gild refined gold, to paint the lily,
To throw a perfume on the violet,
To smooth the ice, or add another hue
Unto the rainbow, or with taper-light
To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish,
Is wasteful and ridiculous excess.

(Shakespear’s King John, 1595)

I promised in an earlier entry (the one about Mark Twain and his parable from the grave) that I was bound and determined to flog this particular horse to the full extent allowed by the law, common decency and P.E.T.A. So, without further ado, here ‘tis: "How American Society Lost Their Collective Minds" or "Hooked on Credit" or "Why I Stopped Hating the Trendsetters and Started Loving Being Ostentatious." You make the call.

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Let me preface this soliloquy by making several pertinent confessions:

First, I am not trained in psychology much less philosophy or even its illegitimate offspring, sociology. The observations I offer here are the workings of a simple mind with simple facilities, observing the even simpler folk milling about him. It is, in truth, similar to someone visiting his local zoo and writing a report on the goings on at "Monkey Island". Even when processed by the contents of a progressively empty brain pan, the value of systematically studying your fellow Homo americanus should not be dismissed, out of hand. After all, National Geographic has been writing about exotic cultures for years, the National Inquirer has been reporting human-alien offspring for decades and The Congressional Record has been diligently recording the howling from a very private, privileged and eclusive (but no less rowdy) monkey island since 1873.

Second, I really have no grounding, educationally or otherwise (beyond years of observation at the aforementioned zoo), on which to build the house of cards I propose to construct. Thus, at the first strong wind (or, even, at the first whiff of Michael Moore’s breath), all my grandiose theorizations are quite likely to tumble down. And, if true to form, they will land squarely on my naked, balding head. The resulting thud, resembling as it would a vigorous thwack on a tympani drum, would, undoubtedly, be deafening. But, fear not for my hearing or my sanity. Both are permanently lost, much like Dr. Phil’s hair, Martha Stewart’s dignity, Amelia Earhart’s plane (not to mention, her remains) and Osama bin laden.

Third, as regular readers will already be fully aware, Socratic logic is not my strong suit. So any thoughts that anything I might write will eventually produce a neat "A plus B, therefore, C and not D" should be discarded immediately. What follows is as near to logical thought as Hollywood is to modesty, Pamela Sue Anderson is to virginity, Amy Winehouse is to rehab or politicians are to attending to the public interest. There is absolutely no claim to the science of syllogism nor even a stab at reality. In brief, this construct should be taken cum grano salis or, better still, with a teaspoon or two of ipecac.

Finally, I claim no originality of thought, much less profundity. I am quite sure my formulation, pristine as it appears to me, has been coincidently discovered by greater minds and written about by more skilled authors. On the other hand, I will, vigorously and adamantly, deny plagiarism. Granted, these thoughts may not be new but, I assure you, they have not been pilfered. Since I have already confessed that I have no training in the area I am about to wax eloquently about, my proof of originality lies in my ignorance of the science at hand. I am rightfully as unlettered in the science behind what I am dissecting as George Bush is of public rhetoric, as George Clooney is of matrimony or R Kelly is of the proper age of consent.

With those disclaimers prominently displayed, let us begin.

I have long been convinced, for good or ill, that societies are formed among men because of shared values, goals and the need to interact with others of the same species. The earliest cave communities probably came about because a few Homo erecti realized that they agreed on shared values (e.g. commune-like sharing of the cavegirls for efficient mixing of the genetic pool), shared goals (e.g. staying alive) and the need to socialize (e.g. sharing meat and fermented guano by the camp fire). As time marched on, the communities became more complex. Farming replaced hunting, caves were replaced by villages, pair-bonding (probably demanded by a few of the more homely cavegirls) replaced orgies and fermented guano was replaced by various fermented vegetables and fruits.

All along the jagged line that measures civilization’s progress - one century lurching forward, the next, declining to a degree, then leaping forward again - while no where near a straight line, has been relentlessly advancing. Some keys can be described as the "glue" that keep societies focused, together and united. These institutions, in no particular order, are:

Family (your mother, father, grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc.)

Neighborhood (where you lived and who lived near you)

Job (what you did and who you worked with, day in and day out)

Church (where you, your family, most of your relatives and some of your neighbors worshiped)

These are, to me, the four corners of a civilized and stable society. They are, one might say, the "anchors" that give society stability. But, of even more importance, they give the individual a distinct sense of where he is situated within the society - his status, if you will. In the framework of these pillars - family, neighborhood, job and church - one gets a sense of one’s "betters" and one’s "inferiors", not in a "all men are created equal" sense but in the pecking order that exists in human society no differently than they exist in the barnyard. [And, incidently, anyone who sees this as an undesirable phenomenon knows nothing of anthropology].

In the hierarchy that is part of a healthy society, all of the members have those they respect, those they can ask for reliable advice, those they can drink and eat with for entertainment. Those that occupy a lower "tier" can count of having others for the same things. Each level looks up and down, asking for comfort, advice and guidance from those on a higher tier, socializing on their own tier, and providing comfort, advice and guidance to those on lower tiers. Secure that each member of the society will have their needs met, there is seldom conflict or anxiety. These are conditions instigated by those who seek power (i.e. politicians) and are brought about by convincing one tier that they are deprived of something by, usually but not always, a higher tier. Think of Hitler who convinced the middle- and upper-class German people that ethnic minorities (Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, and Socialists) were depriving them of their birthright. Think of Pol Pot who convinced the lower class peasant farmers of Cambodia that the teachers, the priests and the doctors were oppressing them and must be purged. Think of Stalin who convinced every level of Russian society that every Russian who opposed his policies were traitors and enemies of the people. That is how stable society can be disrupted and torn down.

Tragically, we are seeing other forces at work in our contemporary society. Once structured, providing its members with the requisite anchors of social awareness and a consciousness of place and function, the road maps that gave our lives a clear view are rapidly being erased. The national clamor for "equality" - in opportunity as well as outcomes - has cut the chains to our once reliable and stabilizing anchors. In brief, we are adrift.

The once hallowed institutions of church, family, neighborhood and workplace are all under siege. Church attendance is down and falling even more dramatically among the young. The nuclear family, ravaged by ever-rising divorce rates - 50 per cent for first marriages, 67 per cent for second marriages and 74 per cent for third (you’d think someone would get the message!) - no longer provide the stability and a sense of "safe haven" that they once did. We change residence about every 5-6 years and almost never grow to adulthood in a single place, with peers we can rely on for guidance and mentoring. Rather than lifetime employment, jobs are now little more than revolving doors. According to a survey by Massachusetts Mutual Insurance, almost seven in ten of the young adults surveyed think it is better to stay at one job than move around to get ahead. However, almost half expect to be at their current job for less than two years, and one-third expect to be there for less than one year.

And we are friendless. A Duke sociologist studied, via face-to-face interviews, 1,467 adults. The survey reported that one-fourth of Americans report that they have nobody to talk to about "important matters". Another quarter reported they are just one person away from nobody.

But this was not the most startling fact. Reproducing a study done 20 years ago, the trend, though alarming, fits our model. In only two decades, from 1985 to 2004, the number of people who have no one to talk to has doubled. And the number of confidants of the average American has gone down from three to two.

So, if we have lost the anchors that stabilized our lives and gave us a palpable sense of "who we are" and where we stand, what is left? What remains is the artificial, the vainglorious and the external. No longer recognized as a member of any particular group or caste, we spend the greater part of our lives, not to say our fiances, constructing our own identity. And we are grand and absurd fools in the attempt, recalling the efforts of Caesar to deny the crown, the German people to deny any knowledge of the Holocaust, Don Imus to declare he is not a racist or to believe that rappers are not misogynists. We all know better, or should.

We have become, in point of fact, the greatest collection of poseurs the world has ever seen, if you exclude the French Army, the U.S. Congress and Milli Vanilli. Without knowing who we are, in the stable framework that once made up our lives, we are resigned to give the world around us clues and signals of our devising.

Not knowing any better, we pick the peacock feathers and gild the lily. One sees this tragedy played out every day. The ungrounded members of "the prime commercial demographic" - the 18-35 year olds - with their vacuous heads, undisturbed by even an attempt at acquiring any semblance of wisdom (much less knowledge), in or out of school, prowl the streets in search of affirmation. And, what they get, instead, is confirmation of all they lack. Their heightened perception of what is missing from their existence is all they can feel and it is a dreadful discontent, entirely unique to our age. Suckled at the ample bosom of Mother Democracy, they are vaguely aware that they are, they think, entitled. Equality, that ephemeral, fantastical declaration that sealed the fame of Jefferson, commands that they have their share. They are, of course, not quite sure of exactly what they are entitled to but their parents, peers, television and the illusion of the state lotteries have all led them to believe that fame and fortune are to be theirs, someday.

And, thus, they preen and parade and prink. Not for themselves but to establish their place - lost in the morass of broken anchors and dissolution of the familiar road that guided us generations past - in the society around them. We find no (nor make any) time to actually know anyone to assess their personal values, interests or talents so we opt for the quick and dirty solution. To wit: a fresh coat of cheap paint on a rusted chassis. And, the sad reality is that, with everyone wearing the same fashions, all plugged into MP3 players or leashed to a Bluetooth device, driving the same "pimped out" cars and sporting the same knock-off hand bags and watches, the confusion remains unresolved and unaddressed. As long as we remain under the spell of those who would have us believe "the clothes make the man", we will be content with the plumage and the paint, never knowing (or taking the time to know) the human beneath. This, gentle reader, is not the life the Deity envisioned for us.

If you feel secure, have a healthy self-esteem and know who and what you are, you have my congratulations for escaping the trap. You are, truly, more rare than hen’s teeth, an honest man or a 16 year old virgin. If you are not one of the anointed, the solution is obvious. Simply reconnect. Reconnect with your family, your church, your humanity. Repeat, chant-like, once every hour: "I am not what I wear. I am not where I shop. I, like all those around me, have unique gifts to share and fascinate you - if you will only take the time to discern them." It may sound like a little like Tyler Durden, but it’s much more. And it’s a start in the right direction. A journey of a thousand miles does not begin with a new pair of $250 Nike kicks. All that is required is to put one foot in front of the other and expect to see something or meet someone fantastic.

The biggest charge is what you might find along the way.