A New American Dream...Through AI?
There is so much to celebrate! Yesterday, we ushered in a beautiful blue moon to inspire our dreams. The SoulTech Foundation is now officially a 501c3 nonprofit, and we received the confirmation yesterday. The in-conversation event celebrating my new book is sold out. Sales of the book benefit SoulTech’s work to teach transitioning adult workers AI skills. Anyhoo, I am so very grateful!! It has, in all honesty, been a beautiful but very challenging few years!
To celebrate the launch event, I thought I would share a sneak peek at A New American Dream. I believe that America can use AI to deal with many of our challenges and reignite the American Dream. Something has to give before our throne is gone forever. Having said that, below is the preface to my 3rd tome.
I look forward to seeing you tomorrow at NeueHouse Madison Square NYC at 6 p.m.!
Enjoy the trailer for my latest book.
A New American Dream
Preface
In 2022, I filmed a video on Lady Bird Lake about the death of the American Dream, a concept deeply rooted in the belief that anyone, regardless of their background, can achieve their version of success and prosperity in the United States. I moved to Austin to write my first book, an awkward and beautiful learning experience. The pandemic had us in the heat of strange days, and the downtime painted our issues in neon.
I could no longer live in the warm bubble of denial that Americans get via mass media and institutions. As a patriot and futurist, I could see the painful lessons ahead. We were rocketing toward a reckoning driven by delusion, corruption, and late-stage capitalism.
America earned her crown with our work to end World War 2. We may not have wanted to go to war, but we brought it to an epic conclusion. When the soldiers returned, we entered a glowing era. We were heroes who had saved the world from shocking evil. Our new status made us darlings on the world stage.
Sad to say, but war often equals economic growth. The country was booming. The 1950s ushered in newfound prosperity and influence, combined with post-war bliss and a puritanical framework to create a template for the ideal life path. Enter the American Dream. Slick ads and more innovative ad executives raced to capitalize on our romantic era. Businesses mass-produced and packaged homes, cars, picket fences, and elegant clothing for ready consumption.
I wonder if we can ever appreciate how the placement of TVs in every household allowed corporations and institutions to mold the future and the American psyche, especially for a capitalistic boom. Radio has been a powerful tool for decades, but TV allowed reinforcement of the 'perfect family' and ideal lifestyle via visuals. The next time we see that level of influence is during the 2000 tech boom, a period marked by rapid technological advancement and the rise of the internet, which further amplified the influence of mass media and corporate messaging.
That post-war era created a roadmap to success for the next 60 years. Hollywood and the media, long tools of powerful institutions, were wielded to reinforce the ideals of American freedom, good citizenship, a deserving family, and the prosperity possible for all who played the game. There was much truth to all of it. Many people created beautiful lives and businesses.
The problem with capitalism is that it breeds greed, and greed, like any deadly sin, eventually leads to the death of the soul. In this case, it led to the end of the American Dream, the heart and soul of the country, the ladder we were inspired to climb.
Corporations and advocacy organizations now run the country, our politicians, and our policies. When I was young, big businesses cared or pretended to care more about people. They celebrated years of loyalty with rewards and gave pay, pensions, and benefits, allowing baby boomers to hold most of the country's wealth.
These days, they have become shameless in their greed. While pay has remained stagnant for Americans since the 70s, CEO pay has increased by nearly 1500%. Big businesses have pissed on people with low incomes, crushed the middle class, and destroyed entire industries in the name of profit. Now, they are not even pretending to care about people or America. Their desire to keep shareholders happy has caused them to cut benefits, pensions, production, and millions of jobs they could have kept.
Order my newest book, a conversation starter for America, available on Amazon.
Our politicians, basically on the payroll of big business, have made it easy for them. While partisan politics have always served as distractions for the masses, grandstanding and finger-pointing are an epidemic sucking the spirit out of potential progress.
Instead of using the post-pandemic era to help the country get back on its feet, many big businesses have drained most people's savings, increased the costs of necessities by 30-50%, nearly doubled rents, lowered the quality and size of almost everything, and shipped even more jobs out of the country. Many people now work multiple jobs while still unable to live their great-grandparents' lifestyle. Lives are shortening, the population is dwindling, and so is everyone's desire to play the game.
A blatantly corrupt political system has made the situation possible. Why are politicians not being arrested for insider trading? Why is it even legal to use inside knowledge to gamble on the stock market? When will we make investing in the stock market while holding office impossible? Why can politicians solve problems for special interests and ship billions to foreign countries in a matter of days but need help addressing the basic needs of the American people?
We are facing severe socio-political and economic issues, and the urgency of corporate and political corruption and greed is our most pressing concern. It has not only shattered the American Dream but also stripped us of our jobs and independence. It has eroded the faith of younger generations in the country and made the once-attainable dream of a family and home a distant reality for most. The time for action is now. We cannot afford to wait any longer.
It is time for us to wake up and force healthy change. The saying is true: we get the democracy we accept. This situation is no longer sustainable or acceptable. But we, the people, have the power to change it. We can no longer sit back and accept the status quo. It's time to take a stand and demand the change we want.
America is at a pivotal moment in human history. While significant change may have seemed unattainable or even impossible for decades, the age of Artificial Intelligence presents a unique opportunity. We can harness this transformative power to our advantage, ushering in a new era of prosperity and inclusivity. AI is not just a tool; it's a beacon of hope for a better future.
We already know AI will alter everything. Every single industry and institution is going to transform. In higher consciousness, we can work ahead of that wave and ride it into our next glowing era. We can use this epic moment in human history alongside artificial intelligence to design a new American Dream that positions the country and younger generations for success—a new kind of success built on truth, inclusivity, foresight, authenticity, positivity, sustainability, and empowered levels of human consciousness.
America's major issues are reaching a critical point. While it may be daunting, we must remember that healing begins with removing poison. We can no longer ignore the truth about what is happening in America. It is time for brutally honest conversations. The kind that has begun to take root on social media and is starting to permeate traditional media. Acceptance of the truth is the first step towards meaningful change.
We can rebuild. We can regain the respect we have lost in recent years, particularly on the international stage. We can design a new empire that strikes back at all the toxicity that has brought us low. It will take brutally honest conversations. It will take leadership that leads the people, not corporations or special interests, to the front of the line. It will take consciously and proactively changing all our systems.
We are already undergoing a dramatic transformation in our generation's version of an industrial revolution. We can demand that the change benefit the people. We can transform our most significant issues from fear-driven soundbites to long-term sustainable solutions. We can do that if we combine this time of considerable change with the power of AI to build a better tomorrow consciously.
As a social theorist, communications pioneer, and conscious living author who spent many years helping solve major issues for businesses, I wanted to share a roadmap and conversation starter for navigating our most significant challenges.
These are complex issues. However, if I learned anything from transmuting business issues into newfound success, it was to stay focused on the core problem. This process reminds me of a knotted gold chain; pinning the biggest knot allows you to untangle it.
The idea may seem scary or even stupid to some, but AI will infiltrate every area of our lives. Accepting that fact suggests we grab the reins and do it strategically, consciously, fiercely, and openly.
This brief book will focus on the vital issues empowering our most significant challenges. I will highlight our most pressing socio-political-economic issues, list the core problems, offer potential solutions, and share ways to leverage AI for ethical, equitable, and sustainable success.
These are complex issues that could take up an entire book individually. This simple roadmap is designed to inspire conversation and help us overcome fear about the future. I recommend sitting with friends and picking one solution to discuss, rip it apart, or support. Whatever you do, talk about it.
We have this brief moment to dramatically shift the country's future. I am not sure if we will ever have this opportunity to reestablish our former glory. In all frankness, I was not planning to produce another book this year. However, I felt the conversation was so vital that I decided to start this new book series of conversation-starters through my AI nonprofit, the SoulTech Foundation.
The book, crafted with AI-driven research, is not designed to be escapist non-fiction. If you seek that, check out my memoir, Memory Mansion. A New American Dream is meant to trigger a change in perception of AI. It is meant to inspire us to act now. It was crafted to inspire conversation with friends and family. That is where change takes root, in apartments, homes, libraries, and community centers across America.
Let us rise again, stronger and wiser. Let us build a new dream that excites younger generations about the future. Finally, let us be wise enough to raise human consciousness before AI entirely takes root in every system, or humanity will eventually be ruled by AI.
End
I hope that tickled your reading tastebuds.
Have a beautiful week.
Namaste
Cynthia
www.ShamanIsis.com
www.SoulTechFoundation.org
