Social Behavior in Popular Culture. Literature & Language Essay

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Social Behavior in Popular Culture
The current events, notably the ongoing global Pandemic, sharpen the focus on Barbara Ehrenreich's book "Bright-sided: How positive thinking is undermining America.” The book highlights how positive psychology has deluded Americans. She states that positive thinking is making Americans ignore the harsh realities of the world today. This psychology is making the American society fall apart. Comparing this text with Olivia Goldhill's "Trump supporters are living in a reality shaped by television" and Lilliana Mason's “Why are Americans so angry this election” will bring to light the relevancy of her text in the middle of a pandemic. A bright faced mentality is hurting America’s efforts to fight the Pandemic and so people should adopt a realistic mindset.
Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the dangers of a positive psychology have been exposed. America, despite its advanced healthcare system and technologies, leads the world in global infections and deaths. This situation can be attributed to the prevailing American psychology when the virus first broke out in China. Comments from leading figures from various sectors have dismissed the severity of the virus. Foremost was President Trump, who compared the virus to common flu and dismissed it as not dangerous. Trump downplayed the dangers of the virus and claimed America was better positioned than other countries to handle it (CNBC). However, at present, it is evident that his optimism was misplaced. America is now the nation worst-hit by the Pandemic. In light of this, let’s take a look at how it relates to Ehrenreich’s book.
Putting attention on Ehrenreich's book helps explain how Americans came to this reality. In her book, she disputes the notion that positive thinking is psychologically healthy. She argues that America prides itself as the most positive nation. However, America is not at the top of global happiness surveys. Ehrenreich uses her battle of cancer to dismiss positive thinking. She criticizes health professionals who claim that positive thinking is an element of cure. She says this is living in denial since the patients struggle with pain and suffering daily while undergoing treatment (Ehrenreich). To her, positive thinking is delusional. With this in mind, it can help understand America’s psychology during the pandemic.
In the first place, America was deluded into thinking they were in control of the solution. The constant optimistic messages from the president and the media only served to promote complacent behaviors from the public. Americans did not take the disease seriously, so they did not take the necessary precautions to protect themselves from the virus (CNBC). As a result, American health agencies had a slow response, leading to the virus infecting the public at alarming proportions. For this reason, America’s positive culture significantly undermined their efforts to fight the virus in the early stages. The American public was made to believe that the effects of the virus were greatly exaggerated. They did not think the situation would escalate. Instead, many Americans' mindset was that the virus woul...