Once there was a time, before radio and television, when Americans could judge their lives based on simple criteria: compared to your neighbors, did you possess a larger hog, a stronger mule, more sons? The Golden Age of self worth.

Then, along comes technology, and of a sudden Americans can compare themselves to a huge swath of humanity – were they richer than Bill Gates, sexier than Veronica Lake, thinner than Kate Moss? Self worth and the concept of success got trickier and trickier, until the modern day, where we are constantly barraged by images of success and beauty that are not even real – no one can hope to compete with a Photoshopped supermodel, a hugely bankrupt tv tycoon with bad hair, or the star of a fully scripted ‘reality television’ program.

An ordinary American of average wealth and education might be forgiven for thinking: “What’s wrong with me? Why didn’t Tommy Lee love me enough to give me hepatitis? Aren’t I special? Where’s my rap posse?”

American Failure is the blog for the man and woman tormented by that little voice inside that says, “Everyone is succeeding except me.”