The Most Dangerous "ism" Of All

The older I get and the more I know, the more I know I do not know.  Life is full of paradox.  No matter what an individual may think, say or right, there seems to always be a counter thought.  I know this will be true of what I write here.  However, paradox seems to have trumped common sense.  There are many dangerous “-isms” in our world today, but especially in Western societies.  There certainly are dangers in the isms of sexism, racism, classism, communism, socialism and even capitalism.  There is perhaps no more dangerous “ism” than that of individualism.  The shooting sprees that have seemingly become rampant in America recently are definitely a product of individualism coupled with narcissism.  Think about the mass shootings that have occurred in recent American history – most carried out by lone individuals or no more than two individuals.

            It has been said that, “Things like this have always occurred but we are simply hearing more about it now with the proliferation of media.”  To which my response is, “Really?  Do you mean to tell me that when my parents were growing up on the cusp of the age of television and beyond, they were not made aware of nationally traumatic events over the radio and newspaper?”  If an adult or child had gone into a school on a shooting rampage during my parents’ day, they certainly would have heard about it.  As to other crimes against children, the horrific crimes of sexual exploitation and child molestation, may certainly have been covered up.  They may have occurred during a time when people “did not talk of such things”, but is it logical to then say that it happened to the same degree and depth that it occurs in today’s society?  In a hyper-sexualized culture where the care of children has been systemically abandoned from the smallest family units to larger institutions, is it any wonder that the sexual exploitation of children has become seemingly more rampant?  To say, “pish-posh” to such an accusation is naïve.  One only has to look at the sexualizing of children from child models to toddler “beauty” pageants to the progression from “Disneyesque” preteen stars to young pop culture icons.

            The marketing machine has found its way into the pockets, wallets and purses of children under the age of 18 either through marketing to the children themselves or to their parents.   Children have become little more than consumers for manufacturers and status symbols for parents.  A recent, and excellent movie entitled, “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” reflects the shift in the mentality of caring for the needs of a child to using children to provide for the emotional needs of the parents.  In the movie, which I believe reflects this sentiment; two parents desire a child and make a wish list of the characteristics of the child should have making him (or her) near perfect.  While the child fulfills nearly every wish (in his own unique way), the parents begin to realize that this child, let alone any other child, will not be “perfect”.  Behind the scenes however, the child makes many personal sacrifices in order to make the adults happy.  “Timothy Green” reflects the current Western sentiment of using children for the happiness of the parents.  When this cannot happen, or the child is perceived as inconvenient, he or she is aborted.

            Individualism and narcissism present many problems to the detriment of a society.  A considerable problem is that too many people are looking for systematic failures when ascribing blame to individuals, organizations or institutions when the problem is more complex than systematic failures.  Systematic failures are much easier to see, quantify, explain, and used to place blame on someone else.  Systematic failures are also more easy to deal with.  The real culprit and problem is systemic failures.  Systemic failures are more complex and difficult to deal with for they come about from decisions that have unforeseeable results that can become complex by related decisions in the future.  What is more, these unforeseeable results are often linked to other seemingly unrelated decisions that add to the complexity and brokenness of other decisions made.  It is indeed a complex matrix that becomes very difficult to disentangle, let alone set straight.

            Individualism has become such a matrix.  We have become a nation that was once “for the people, of the people and by the people” and is now, “for the person, of the person and by the person”.  The systemic failures resulting from the individualism are only now becoming very apparent.  Rights such as freedom of speech, the freedom to bear arms and all other “rights” guaranteed to the American people have been taken to such extreme that we are reaping the systemic consequences to our own demise.  We have sacrificed any semblance of what is best for the community on the altar of individual “rights”.

            Ironically, sociopathic behaviors can be defined as such individualism – not caring for the norms of the collective for the benefit of society.  A paraphrased definition of sociopath, according to the DSM IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition) is, “People with Antisocial Personality Disorder (sociopath, psychopath) try to get their way without being considerate of others. They show spontaneous behavior, which humiliates or harms other people. They lack any feeling for or understanding of norms, nor have they any feeling of guilt. They do not seem to be able to plan actions or to act with foresight.”  This definition fits the current individualistic and narcissistic pursuits of current day America.  Parents have abandoned parental responsibilities in order to be their child’s “friend” and to pursue their own agendas and comfort.  It is easy to be a friend; it is much more difficult to be the loving and disciplinary parent all children need.

            Different forms of media are sociopathic as well.  Producing pornographic images, movies other media is protected under freedom of speech rather then acknowledged as the harmful smut that it is.  Pornography is nothing more than a medium for individual sexual gratification and the sexualization of another human being.  Media also protrays violence, prolific foul language and the degradation of other human beings and is protected under freedom of expression.  Our children are exposed to conversations on morning radio rampant with sexual content.  Those who would make the argument, “Turn off the radio or television or do not purchase certain items,” are unaware of their shallow arguments because they are not aware of systemic issues.  Decision A leads to decision B, which leads eventually to unforeseen outcome D, E or F.  Indeed, I may be able to turn off a radio station or a television station but how do I avoid my son seeing a rolling advertisement on a truck that has a scantily clad woman selling vodka?  (This has indeed happened in a couple of different situations.  When liberties are granted in excess ad nauseam, common sense is lost – all under the banner of “freedoms”.  Do I now have to be the responsible adult by requiring my 10 year-old son to wear a blindfold whenever we are traveling down the road?)

            A few years ago, a movie that portrayed gratuitous violence hid behind the cloak of freedom of expression and claimed that their media output had no effect on societal violence.  This statement was made in one breath but then in the very next breath the producers lauded their efforts on public safety as the characters put on their seatbelts before a high speed chase and made the comment, “Safety first”.  This is akin to saying, “Your child…” to your spouse when your child misbehaves and then, “My child…” when the child does something well.  It is called passing the blame.  It is convenient for media to play up what they consider to be noble and yet hide behind rights for ignoble or malevolent actions.  If media does not have an effect on people, why even have it?  If media does not have an effect on people then logically commercials and advertising would be a waste of billions of dollars.  Media matters.

            The most dangerous thing about individualism, coupled with narcissism, is when they become “protected rights” to the detriment of the society in which the individuals live.  More then protected, all the evils listed above are labeled as rights simply for the satisfaction of individuals.  The obvious outcome is the disintegration of a society at the cost of protecting individualism.  The mantra, “Everyone has the right to be right (or have certain rights)” in non-sensical and illogical.  Not everyone can be right.  To insist that two plus two equals five simply because an individual has a right to freedom of speech only serves to validate the insanity of that individual.  I suppose it would be easy to then say that a society obsessed with individualism is bound to be a society where insanity is the norm.