Individualism (updated!)

Harper's magazine has impressed me with its religion coverage lately, centering around several stories about the Christian right.

"Three quarters of Americans believe the Bible teaches that 'God helps those who help themselves.' That is, three out of four Americans believe that this uber-American idea, a notion at the core of our current individualist politics and culture, which was in fact uttered by Ben Franklin, actually appears in Holy Scripture. The thing is, not only is Franklin's wisdom not biblical; it's counter-biblical. Few ideas could be further from the gospel message, with its radical summons to love of neighbor."

- Author Bill McKibben, in his Harper's magazine essay, "The Christian Paradox"

I think a lot of people go through a stage of being really into individualism. It's sort of an adolescent thing, asserting yourself as independent from your parents and upbringing. In this country it hits a little harder, because we have this strong laissez-faire economic streak, as well as the whole romantic idea of the rugged individualist as popularized by the transcendentalists. Thoreau seems so badass when you are a sophomore in college and you enjoy thinking of yourself as iconoclastic and revolutionary. These days though, I am really loving the secret truth that his mom was visiting him at Walden and bringing meals of fresh bread. The big secret is that people rely on each other for everything.

We are told this story and tell each other this story about the great transcendent artist who changes perception. I can think of a couple of really clear cases in our shared music culture where this is the story but not the reality ... the great artist was a product of a community, what made them great was that they succesfully took the insights of the community to the larger world. Examples from our shared musical culture being for instance Fugazi who when they came out it seemed like such a revelation - eight-beats, loud/quiet, a dub approach to punk, a layered vocal. When I started to see that Fugazi were a product of Rain, the Bad Brains, Happy Go Licky/Rites of Spring it really changed this perception for me. They created their style within a community of people exploring these ideas. Same with Beat Happening with the antecedent being Supreme Cool Beings (and others). Something hits the larger world and when it resonates -- Fugazi, White Stripes, the perception is - OK this is what the idea is, but instead it's one subset of a mass of connected ideas and approaches that are being explored by that community.-Al Larsen

Granted, my experience of Christianity has been way different than a lot of people in my peer group (i.e. mostly positive) but it's weird for me to realize that for many others Christianity is being conceived as this springboard for individualism. For most evangelicals the pivotal religious moment is the individual born-again experience, when they personally accepted Christ. It was never like that for me. Most of my memories of going to church over the years are of feeling I was part of something larger, feeling connected and supported. Singing together. Sharing stories (and cookies). Little old ladies complimenting me when I played the piano at the 9:00 service. Standing in a circle and linking arms, heads bowed.

Funny thing: this entry started out about me thinking about social consequences of individualism, but now I am thinking more about very personal connections and the lack of community in my own life. I think I'm going to try to start going to church regularly again. I will keep you informed.