I interpret that the alienation that many feel today, and the general degradation of society belong to one primary cause - that the wellspring of culture is now upstream of the people.
Before, it was communities that dictated norms and followed rules that became tradition. Culture was passed down from generation to generation with oral tradition and practices that were followed by the youngest, then passed down and so on. When advertising and governments wanted to gain power, they needed to appeal to the culture that already existed to gain support and respect from the people they were serving. The people had power to dictate the narrative that they would accept and that would shape their lives. The system was intact.
Somewhere near the dawn of women's suffrage, high divorce rates, single-parent households. Television became a surrogate parent. The balance of power became distorted. Now those who are appealing to the people have the power to both create the narrative that is tradition and to shape it to best serve their interests. Instead of the mothers and elders of society shaping the youth, it was Mad Men in marketing headquarters.
Culture is now being cultivated in board rooms, by analytics, and applied psychology to maximize added-value of a life.
This creates a very fertile landscape for the monetarily motivated. Hence the rise of hustle and grind culture, and the extreme disparity present.
Now the sensation that something is wrong, and unnatural to those inclined becomes prevalent and more disturbing.
Those who cannot recognize that the culture that exists now is not their people's become simple worker bees; NPC's or hylics if you like. The shadow of mankind consumes all, and the spiritual self within is left to rot, as it cannot coexist with the plastic culture that it encounters in realms of social media, games, TV, and radio.
A great unease exists within us, and the self that longs to forge tradition is crying to break out. Let it. Be free.
