Why We Hate Us: American Discontent in the New Millennium (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this study of American social self-loathing Meyer addresses why Americans have come to hate themselves (and each other) at a time of national prosperity and relative peace. In compelling, wonderfully cranky and comic prose, the author contends that the radical social changes of the 1960s and the recent technological revolution have drastically altered the pace of life, leaving Americans morally and existentially tired, disoriented, anchorless, and defensive. In arguments familiar to any sociology student, Meyer describes how the rise of freedom of choice in nearly every aspect of American life has been accompanied by the enervation of traditional social institutions (Our communities have been neutered, and our traditional, inherited moral, religious, and aesthetic sensibilities have been discredited). Pointed critiques of political theater, celebrity culture, the rise of marketing and media conglomerates and the decline of manners elaborate on the growing trends of bullshit, belligerence, and boorishness. Meyer is gleefully critical and very sincere in his concern for the state of American life; his practical suggestions urging readers to turn the tide of self-hate and phoniness are a must-read for anyone fed up with modern life. (Aug.) ""
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Review

In the 1976 movie "Network," Howard Beale, a veteran news anchor played by Peter Finch, becomes psychotic after being told he's too old to anchor the newscast. On what is supposed to be his final broadcast, he breaks out into a rant about the problems of the day, imploring viewers to "get up right now ... go to your windows, open them, and stick your head out, and yell, 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore.' "

Viewers nationwide respond by shouting out their windows en masse. The impromptu segment is a ratings hit, and the lunatic broadcaster is given time on future broadcasts for his tirades.

That satire reflected the insanity of popular culture, particularly television, that reflects a misplaced anger and confused values in society. Those are all themes that inspire Dick Meyer's incisive cultural critique of modern society in "Why We Hate Us."

The book's central argument is that Americans are dissatisfied with their own society. Meyer points, with a wealth of supporting evidence at his fingertips - the vulgarity of the marketing industry, the media's fascination with Paris Hilton, even people who talk loudly on their cell phones - to what he calls the "toxic" cultural environment, which is rife with disingenuousness. Our resulting self-hate is illustrated, he says, by polls showing declining faith in institutions.

"Americans don't trust our institutions or one another," he writes. "Without trust, without a shared vocabulary, without community, we feel endangered."

The author, a former CBS News producer and columnist for the network's Web site who now works for NPR, draws on sources as disparate as existentialism, books on American suburbanization and interviews with an evangelical pastor to generate a book that goes a long way in making sense out of the zeitgeist. The success of the book is less in its description of the cultural climate than in ... --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1 edition (August 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307406628
• ISBN-13: 978-0307406620
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #329,590 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A skewering, barbed, funny, and ultimately surprising book. , August 6, 2008

By	James Meyer - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a rural American reading, "Why We Hate Us," I found myself asking time and again: Who are these people that Meyer is presenting? These aren't the people in my world, in my community. I argued point after point with him in my inner-dialogue. But as I continued to read, and follow his line of reasoning, which is cogent and tightly woven, I had to cede one point after another. I am sorry to say that in the end I had to conclude that the They he is writing about is Us.

Meyer examines our culture from his point of view as a Washington insider. What surprised me was how closely it related to my rural point of view. He moves beyond the Beltway. I think anyone who looks around and is puzzled or shocked or worried by what is to be seen in our society will appreciate Meyer's thoughts. This is not a rant, it an examination. It is also bleak. Having said that, it is also a humorous and personal revelation of his own history. As much as anything it is a story of family and community. The significance of this book lies within the last chapter. Unlike so many books that tear-down, Meyer leaves us with something very surprising: hope. He shows us a way out. His parting thoughts are, to put it simply, uplifting. Not something I would have expected when I began the book. His next book might well be titled, "Why We Hate Us Less", if readers incorporate at least a portion of his intent into their lives.

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must read, August 7, 2008

By	Karen Spencer Kelly (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Have you been wondering "what is wrong?" with our society, our local communities, our own homes? If you have struggled with the harsh reality of being iritated, if not infuriated, on a daily basis with items ranging from an obscene jingle to the war in Iraq, you need, nay you must, read Mr. Meyer's book. It is engaging, witty, well-researched and extremely well-written. But more importantly, it may provide answers to those questions that continue to nag us about the source of our collective dysfunction; and hopefully, also offer suggestions about how we can correct our deviant course, as a nation and as individuals.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Journalist and Author Dick Meyer Sees Us as a Country That Has Succumbed to Learned Helplessness, August 24, 2008

By	M. JEFFREY MCMAHON "herculodge" (Torrance, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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Writing with thoughtful intelligence and keen insight, Dick Meyer, author of Why We Hate Us: American Discontent in the New Millennium, is sincerely haunted by several questions regarding our country's current malaise: Why are so many of us lonely? Why are so many of us depressed and angry? Why are so many of us defensive and paranoid? Why are so many of us distrustful of everyone? Why are we so willing to accept phoniness and ineptness from others, including our government? Why have so many of us surrendered to a condition of learned helplessness and apathy in which not only do we not know what questions we should be asking to solve our depression, we don't even have anyone to confide in should we know the questions we should be asking.

To answer these questions about our country's collective low-self-esteem and paralyzing depression, Meyer tells us a story about ourselves. The story is about a country that has lost common, shared values and virtues, a country that having lost community has replaced communal bonds with fierce tribes and clans that aggrandize themselves while demonizing their "opponents."

The beginning of this story is for Meyer, "Phase One," the Aquarian Promise of Free Love during the 1960s in which there were no boundaries to the freedom, the ego, the sense of self. This Unlimited freedom without a moral roadmap resulted in hedonism, egotism, and ultimately narcissism.

Instead of maturing into responsible adults who give and take from a healthy community and family, we become a bunch of whining, materialistic egotists, our inflated expectations of "selfhood" inevitably being dashed and resulting in greater and greater discontent, bitterness, and resentment.

The 1960s was the beginning of "The Great Me Project," which resulted in little islands competing against each other rather than a healthy community, which could provide the only source of our sanity--"social capital"--the sense of belonging, intimacy, and authenticity that healthy communities provide.

Absent this belonging, intimacy, and authenticity, we fear we are battling against forces by ourselves and we must also be on guard, living defensively against predators, market scams, phony politicians, and the slew of B.S. that has become so ubiquitous.

To compound our disaffected, isolated selves, our brains have become overwhelmed in the face of "Phase Two," the Technology Revolution that dizzies us with so many contraptions and messages that we have lost our grounding, our core, our focus. We don't know if we're coming or going and we feel we're about to explode.

His call for community, less materialism, and more courageous standards for moral absolutes might be too late, but at least he is still kicking and fighting.

While much of the material was familiar to me from other books, including the terse, more focused Shows About Nothing: Nihilism in Popular Culture from The Exorcist to Seinfeld by Thomas S. Hibbs and while he tries to cover too much ground as Meyer issues a diatribe about a "big menu of creepy irritations," Meyer succeeds at telling us a cohesive narrative about our popular culture to show us the trajectory leading to our current condition of learned helplessness, loneliness, partisan humbug, and mistrust.