America Is Going down the Shitter.

Peering in from the eastern border of St. James Park, in the city of San José, you begin to get an essence of American life. From the upper echelons, to the lowly scum of society, St. James Park is known for its diversity. With the church at your back, you can observe the people pacing the station, glancing at their cell phones every other second as they wait for the train to arrive. An elderly man takes a leisurely stroll with the support of his cane. Kids playing soccer score between goal post marked by homeless bunker tree forts. Police reprimand a vagrant man for being naked while changing at his park bench. A used dirty tissue and old worn-in hooker boots lay carelessly on a picnic table inside the deserted playground area. The thugs make a quick score of some coke from their local street pharmacist. In the distance, bordering the western end of the park, are the steps leading to the Superior Court House: an everlasting symbol of justice and security presiding over American life. The frequenters of St. James Park are a part of a unique and complex subculture, in and of itself.

Amidst the school kids and the naked bum, there is a toilet. The free-standing, self-cleaning, public restroom installed by JCDecaux Company only costs a quarter. If you can stomach the sight of the remnants of human excrement and the pungent odor of fecal matter mixed with urine, stale cigarettes, and vomit, this toilet can prove to be extremely convenient. For those who drank too much Starbucks on their way to work or those with a crying four year-old, a public restroom amongst all the “customer only” signs seems like a reasonable solution. With a twenty minute limit, there is adequate time to relieve your bowels, seek shelter from the rain, shoot up ...

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...ther materialistic indulgences. As children, we begin to grow accustomed to a certain lifestyle. The transition into adulthood can prove to be incredibly challenging if we have an unrealistic expectation of how our needs are met, due to the sense of entitlement our parents instilled. In contrast to the involved parent, the absent parent may neglect several, if not all, of their parental duties, being physically, emotionally and financially absent from their child’s life. This often bears resentment in the child that can transcend long into adulthood. As children, we blame our parents for our misfortunes; the absent parent is no exception. Rather than accept personal responsibility, many often use the absent parent as a scapegoat for not achieving one’s full potential. Whether present throughout our lives or not, Americans have deep rooted parental dependency issues.