Disillusionment: A feeling that arises from the discovery that something is not what it was anticipated to be, commonly held to be stronger than disappointment especially when a belief central to one’s identity is shown to be false. (Wiktionary).
Ignorance: the state in which one lacks knowledge, is unaware of something or chooses to subjectively ignore information. This should not be confused with being unintelligent, as one’s level of intelligence and level of education or general awareness are not the same. The word “Ignorant” is an adjective describing a person in the state of being unaware. (Wikipedia)
Disillusionment describes many of those who voted for Obama and the democrats, whether they were progressives, independents, or other groupings.
Ignorance describes many of those on the right who still think the republicans are the answer to our problems.
Of course, the two conditions or states aren’t exclusive to any definitional groupings of people. They exist across all spectrums. But generally, these two states of being are extremely prevalent in Amercian society today.
Perfect Storm: an expression that describes an event where a rare combination of circumstances will aggravate a situation drastically. (Wikipedia)
Has the overall disillusionment and ignorance of the American people ever been at a higher level? Probably not, when considering the scope that exists now. Have the stakes been any higher for the average American citizen? Probably not, considering the numbers involved and the systems that are simultaneously crashing.
Is a Perfect Storm developing among the American people? Where the disillusioned and the ignorant “aggravate a situation drastically”? I believe so. It all depends on whether things actually improve. If things don’t improve, the Perfect Storm could continue to develop to a point where it explodes.
Time will tell. I go back to the fifties and have never seen the levels of disillusionment and ignorance we have now. We seem to be heading to an abyss where the entire concept of this country is completely lost. How the disillusioned and the ignorant react as we get closer to the abyss may not be pleasant.