Quote:
Originally posted by DantesInferno
Do the values imposed on a person within society in the name of Individualism threaten society as a whole? If we are constantly emphasizing the individual in society, who are we leaving behind? In the name of Individualism, we pursue our own dreams, our own ambitions, and as time passes, we let others influence such decisions less and less. Is there something that should be said about that?
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There certainly
is something to be said about that. Individualism threatens some of the core values of our society’s infrastructure. By putting individualism first, you are putting family second. Individualism leads to less compromise, and less willingness to allow others to make guided decisions, that will benefit more than just one person.
Today, you see ever-increasing divorce rates, ever-increasing percentages of families where
both parents work, leaving less and less attention being paid to the children. It is not punishable, but it is a crime. Children grow up unattended and left to their own ways. There is something to be said for children learning to be independent, learning to be as self-sufficient as possible. But children also need a loving and nurturing environment. Sociologists remind us that those that lack this, one way or another, are more prone to a life of crime as they “mature.” And I’ve heard stories from friends in the teaching profession, of how kids today really are wild and uncontrollable, and the reason is that mom and dad weren’t around when they needed to be to say “no.” Neglect should never have snuck its way into our regiment of family values.
There is something to be said about individualism as a virtue as well. Individualism caters to independent creativity and inspiration. Free thinkers who changed history, like Albert Einstein, were arguably better off spending their time with their brain power devoted to advanced concepts of physics and the like, rather than falling flat on their faces trying to be “good parents” with Madame Curie. But wealth has become so glorified, and therefore coveted, that the nobility of family life, of being a good mother or a good father, has become a back burner ideal to individual success. In America, we are victims of our own success. Despite a slumping economy now, we are still the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the world, bar none. It is everywhere you turn here. It is what people draw their strength, and their drive to do well in life, from. The desire to have a strong family is a shrinking piece of the pie. Eventually, we will see the error of our ways, and family, not individualism, will be held in the high regard that it needs to be.