Here's another item in my ongoing series explaining American politics through our obsessive individualism, this one from the Washington Post:
Call it the All About Me trip
“One of the greatest gifts you can give yourself” is permission to travel alone.
Mind you I'm not objecting to this idea; I'm a citizen of this world, too, and I've taken many trips alone. I just note the emphasis in our age on giving to yourself. Which is why, I think, libertarians have suddenly sprouted up all around us, and why it is so difficult for us to carry out any sort of grand common project like national health care.
Are you familiar with Robert Bellah's "Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life" orig publ in 1895? His examination of individualism and its effects gives, I think, very good insight into this question.
ReplyDeleteWow, "giving to yourself" is just such a perfectly Capitalist concept, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteGreed and selfishness are firmly rooted in our society, and they are poisoning it from deep within. (Along with fear and paranoia.)