"In America you have a right to be stupid-if you want to be. And you have a right to be disconnected to somebody else if you want to be." -Secretary of State John Kerry

It's hard not to become self-radicalized in the United States of America these days. Both Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the suspected Boston Marathon Bombers, internalized this harsh and deadly truth. After immigrating to America, and just like most Americans, they were immersed into, and then inundated with, an already self-radicalized societal culture that values extreme and violent narcissistic behaviors and the need to seek fame and be a social media celebrity at any cost. The were also bombarded with an ever aggressive, vengeful, unaccountable, and rogue-like government that is bent on justifying and covering-up (with regards to war crimes) their intent to dominate the world.

Evidence reveals that violent narcissistic acts follow from high self-esteem and an overly exaggerated view of oneself. From playgrounds to working environments, including the government and military, this kind of bullying and egotistical behavior, along with superiority thinking, is played out and lived across America. In many cases, it is even rewarded and glorified. A societal culture that continually emphasizes mutual, escalating provocations and grievances, while discounting more nonviolent and pacifist approaches, encourages individuals like Tamerlan to belittle the life and dream of individuals like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which he did during a mosque service.

If self-radicalization begins to occur when one is disconnected from the realities and sufferings and historical ideals of others, it is strengthened by a vast electronic and social media empire. "All of us, actors and spectators alike," writes Christopher Lasch in 'The Culture of Narcissism', "lie surrounded by mirrors. In them we seek reassurance of our capacity to captivate or impress others, anxiously searching out blemishes that might detract from the appearances we intend to project." The advertising industries deliberately encourages this preoccupation of appearances and of fame. It also programs one to live what is seen in the mass media. The American Dream, then, is to become famous.

If one aspect of self-radicalization and the American Dream is to become a celebrity and too have one-minute-of-fame at any cost-even if it means resorting to outrageous behaviors or committing violent acts-when reality and consequences starts to challenge a vulnerable self-image, or when a narcissistic bubble bursts, total justification occurs. Instead of truth and objectivity, instead of fairness and equality for all-especially the victims, instead of the rule of law and a social contract, self-justification and evil disobedience becomes the norm. This is why friends of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar, after seeing FBI released photos of them, texted "LOL." (LOL means Laugh Out Loud.)

It is also why they immediately tried to destroy any evidence, and why they joked about the horrific bombing. Still, it is the reason why Tamerlan posted a Twitter feed of a vanity license plate on a friend's car reading: "Terrorista #1." Again, in America you have a right to be stupid, a right to be disconnected, and even a right to be a terrorist. This is especially true when government is the best teacher. For decades, the United States Government has either murdered or toppled dozens of foreign leaders it did not approve of. It has preemptively invaded and militarily occupied many nations, resulting in tremendous bloodshed and genocidal wars.

The American government has blatantly practiced and boasted of torturing prisoners, of holding suspects indefinitely and in secret sites called "black holes," and of assassinating opponents through missile and drone warfare. Despite being condemned by the International Criminal Court for structural terrorism, it still acts with impunity. The U.S. government and its various departments are extremely radicalized. It too harbors and mirrors narcissistic and grandiose behaviors. It believes itself to always be justified when escalating mutual provocations and when initiating grievances. And it too has rejected a more conciliatory and multi-lateral approach when dealing with other nations.

One reason a nation and its societal culture collapses is because it fails to perceive the causes of real problems. Such misperception and denial leads to irrational thinking. In return, irrational thinking leads to irrational behavior, or self-radicalization. Self-radicalization is a misunderstanding of what true freedom social living means. It is not really liberty and freedom but irresponsibility and ignorance, and it always harmful to and for everybody. Jared Diamond writes in, "Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail Or Succeed," that a crux of success or failure as a society is to know which core values to hold on to, and which ones to discard and replace with new values, when times change.

As long as America continues to embrace self-radicalization as the American Dream, it too will continue to decline, perhaps even completely collapsing.

Dallas Darling (darling@wn.com)

(Dallas Darling is the author of Politics 501: An A-Z Reading on Conscientious Political Thought and Action, Some Nations Above God: 52 Weekly Reflections On Modern-Day Imperialism, Militarism, And Consumerism in the Context of John's Apocalyptic Vision, and The Other Side Of Christianity: Reflections on Faith, Politics, Spirituality, History, and Peace. He is a correspondent for www.worldnews.com. You can read more of Dallas' writings at www.beverlydarling.com and wn.com//dallasdarling.)