The bedrock of traditional society is the strength of the family and the respect for one's elders. Family-based social networks provide not only for the development of the children and care for the elderly but also for financial security and physical protection against unexpected challenges. Village elders are given the difficult tasks of mediating conflicts and passing on their knowledge, wisdom and traditions to the next generation. Although these societies are often very poor in the material sense, they maintain a vital sense of family, history and hospitality.
Contrast this with today's western societies, where the ultimate mark of success is the individual attainment of wealth and power. Tradition is frowned upon as an unnecessary relic of poorer and more difficult times. Family responsibilities such as the care of the weak and frail are considered secondary to the pursuit of happiness by the strong and able. The concepts of sustainability practiced for generations are replaced by a blind faith in yet-to-be-discovered technologies to solve all of humanity's problems, from personal illness to national security to global warming. Quantity replaces quality as the criteria of success, whether it be one's social contacts, a company's quarterly profit, or the size of one's home. More is better, especially when it comes to the capacity to destroy and kill in the name of a religious doctrine or a political system.
The same boundless mobility of people, merchandise, wealth, and information which has contributed greatly to economic success has also made more and more aspects of life outsourceable. This has led Western societies to neglect their most precious possessions and most important responsibilities - a child's development is outsourced to the daycare center, the body's nutrition is outsourced to McDonald's, the cure of disease is outsourced to the chemistry lab, the production of consumer goods is outsourced to cheap-labor nations, and the care of one's elderly parents is outsourced to the nursing home. As a result, the lack of close personal relationships has caused a widespread sense of unfulfillment. Perhaps the rapid change of the last 50 years has so overwhelmed Western societies with information that they no longer have the time or, worse yet, the capacity to initiate, develop and maintain meaningful personal relationships.
With the lack of close personal links comes an inability to communicate, to understand, and to compromise. Not coincidentally, these are precisely the trademarks of unilateralism and the prerequisites for a policy of pre-emptive war. How closed is the mind and how profound is the ignorance of those who self-righteously claim that "we are on a mission of good," that "they hate us because we are free" or that "we will never negotiate with terrorists!" What do these people fear should they engage in dialogue with, attempt to understand the motives of, or reach a compromise with others? What do they fear should they discover that their actions are insulting and provocative to others? What do they fear should their ideas, their political system, or their way of life not be accepted by others?
|
