From: The Death of Adam, Marilynne Robinson, pg. 85
It is because we hope to acquire rather than to achieve.... that the good we imagine can truly be taken from our hands.
There is a superb commentary on the present cultural situation. As I reflect on the change of emphases in the world around me during the short (or long, depending on your perspective) span of my own thinking life, I cannot help but agree that such is the case.
The emphasis on achievement was palpable during my upbringing. It was not so much a pursuit of wealth as a pursuit of personal worth considered in terms of recognized contribution to society, to family, to community, that impelled us as a generation to do what we did. It was generally assumed that some degree of financial security or even prosperity would attend these attainments, and that was considered only right. It was the type of work that a person did, or the type of role that they played in the community that determined their status and recognition. It was not uncommon for a person to align themselves with a company or other work effort and remain there their entire working life.
Although perceptions are not always true and generalities are by their nature prone to overstatement, yet it seems that the impetus driving most individuals today is a desire for a "lifestyle." What is held up as a goal is a focus on leisure that this supported by employment. The idea of contribution is secondary to the idea of personal self indulgence. If something is not "entertaining" it is not worthy of pursuit, whether in the work place or anywhere else. The idea of of undertaking drudgery in order to attain is viewed with wide-eyed incredulity.
Nowhere is this perhaps more evident than in education. It is deemed impractical or unworthy to expect young people to learn something which requires that they must fight boredom themselves. The struggle is to make education "fun." What is really being said is that disciplined pursuit of knowledge is valuable only to the extent that the person "enjoys" it. The life-lesson that is being taught is "if it is not fun, go do something that is, because nothing is sufficiently important that one must overcome boredom to do it."
Yet many, if not most, of life involves the routine. Washing dishes is not a particularly enjoyable task and yet it must be done if a clean kitchen is desired. Keeping records of expenditures is not particularly entertaining yet it is necessary for a disciplined stewardship of resources. Similarly, the attainment of worthy objectives requires scholarship in whatever pursuits lead to them.
The fragmentation of our society, the break up of heterogeneous communities that formed the nurturing environment for cultural development, has allowed the growth of spontaneous and disposable groupings that accrue in their place. People belong to this group for this facet of their life, and that group for another. These groups are generally small and fluid. There does not exist within them the kind of social restraint and encouragement that comes from the former situation. It does not matter to the individual how people think of him or her very much when it comes to contribution to the whole because the only group dynamic is whether or not the individual is a compatible and amiable fellow within the narrow limits of that particular grouping and its common goals. If the only reason for the group is that they go skiing together then it matters not how each is provided the income to participate.
The television series "Friends" and "Seinfeld" dramatically illustrate this shallow and unsatisfying approach to life. It was the lifestyle with all its various perculations that provided the plot. There was no heroism because their were no goals or standards or sacrifices considered. What is most sad is that it seems inconceivable to so many that such is not how it has to be.
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