I debated if
I would comment on this essay: “The
Collectivist War Against Cultural Heritage” by Brandon Smith, here. After the idea wouldn’t go away, I obviously
had to. As a person who studies American
culture and a professional in Heritage conservation I probably need to comment.
Basically, Smith rants about how big
government is supposedly taking over our lives and is a threat to our individualism. “Collectivism” is used as a dirty word. His first paragraph sums up the essay
Two things make man what he is; his soul,
and his memory. Lose one, or both, and he ceases to exist. He might
as well buzz over his own garbage like an insect. When a society is drawn
into the repugnant shadow of totalitarianism and collectivism, it is usually
because the masses have abandoned (or been enticed to abandon) a piece of their
inner and outer heritage, something which kept the darkness at bay, a lesson
from the past, or a principle long honored. In the wretched and psychotic
quest for the “perfect” establishment system, we are even often encouraged by
the elitist ilk to slough off the warm remnants of our cultural inheritance like
so much skin and “look forward” to a bright and more promising tomorrow, where
everything will be different, and certainly, better than today.
Normally, I
wouldn’t comment on such a rant. Smith is a young blogger, b 1981 based on his
profile, and he markets a Safe Haven place in Montana, in Kalispell, were
people can get off the grid. What is
silly about this idea is that it is consistent with our American heritage for
people to rant and rave like this, and to set up commune-like places to get off
the grid. This is not new to anyone who
has read American cultural history. A
minority of every generation has felt compelled to do similar things as Smith
is advocating. So, I am uncertain what Cultural
Heritage he thinks is being lost.
It certainly
is not “individualism” as I understand that concept. Those that know me would
easily say that I am okay with being a loner. It is hard for me to ask help
from anyone. I take care of myself and my own. I am happy to help others in
need as long as it doesn’t turn into some long term commitment. I don’t like social connections that reduce my
options (although I will engage in one that seems to expand my options).
Also, take a
look at the safe haven concept he presents at his home page. It is a collectivist’s wet dream: social
networking, help each other, living socially, etc. His definition of collectivism is
bizarre. To him, it is big government
forcing people into railroad cars. He spits out the other curse words
(socialism, fascism, totalitarianism) with glee. I see him as a faux individualist.
Let’s be
clear here. Individualism and
collectivism are not opposites—they are two sides of the same coin. In American culture people like Smith often
contrast them but do so out of ignorance.
An individualist
is a person who chooses to keep much of the pressures and challenges of society
to a minimum because they are afraid of being overwhelmed by them. They also try to control those social activities
that do exist in their life. Individualists
are more comfortable in low context cultures and situations.
A
collectivist is a person who embraces the pressures and challenges of society
and likes being embedded in social activity.
They give themselves over to it (and being in control is optional). A
collectivist is more comfortable in high context cultures and situations.
This paradox
of how to live in society is likely the defining cultural trait of American
culture. It is there for all cultures,
but for Americans, it is a crucial problem.
And, it has been well studied.
The best reports are:
Bender,
Thomas
1978 Community
and Social Change in America. Rutgers,
University Press, Piscataway, New Jersey.
Dumont,
Louis
1986 Essays on
Individualism: Modern Ideology in Anthropological Perspective. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Madsen,
Richard, William M. Sullivan, Ann Swidler and Steven M. Tipton
1985 Habits of
the Heart: Individualism and Commitment
in American Life. New York,
Harper and Row.
They are dated
but well worth the time to read.
We are not
losing our cultural heritage. We are living through the normal cycle of
cultural high, then awakening, then unraveling, then secular crisis, and then
repeating. We are in the crisis era
which will end with people being pushed or forced into more social conformity.
I don’t like
that anymore than Smith seems to. But this
process is not the loss of any heritage; it is our American heritage cycling
once again, just as the seasons change.
I
have always liked autumn.
