Our nation finds itself in a crisis even bigger than the Cold War or 9/11. We suffer from a complete loss of community due in large part to the meteoric growth of individualism. America became great in the first place due to a number of factors. First, we had neither national traditions nor internal enemies to block our ability to think creatively and to imagine a variety of different futures together. In fact, we had to start from scratch and invent ourselves.
A product of the Enlightenment, Jeffersonian optimism printed an open book of blank pages. This way of thinking, though surrounded by debate, relented toward a true progressivism, long before its definition became overused and often misinterpreted. In short, our communities fused together as a team. We gathered together to discuss ideas and implement progressive, optimistic plans for an open, independent future where people were encouraged to explore different ideas without hating the opposition.
We thrived as a society because of a balance which existed between respect for the individual and working together for our common good. This balance carried us through many tough times, including the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and Korea. Then, in the late sixties, a double-edged social revolution raised by an overwhelming youth culture redefined our nation’s ways, good and bad, all while the war in Vietnam raged. Obviously, the resulting civil and women’s rights movements are a positive thing. But somehow we began to see ourselves as individuals, on display through the overt materialism of Generation X, my people. Making money and showing it off became the rule of the day, while self-esteem defined our thinking. After all, if little Johnny is sad because he lost, good heavens, what will we do? But self-esteem is not given, it is earned. We have lost that basic knowledge that perseverance, sacrifice and hard work design and refine one’s character, rather than some social experiment.
I’m Loren Christensen, and this is a Word from the Vine.
Comments