Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Community deficiency disorder
I met a man from Mexico who reported that in his small village people did not use antidepressant drugs. "We don't let anyone slip away into depression. We give our friends attention, play with them, talk with them, and make them feel loved. Soon, their depression lifts." We, on the other hand, live in a society that encourages isolation. This is what the consumer society is all about. We substitute services and products for real contact with people; as if products and services can replace real community. Highly rich technological consumer oriented societies suffer from community deficiency disorder. Can we take the cure?
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The actual thing I think America suffers from is the role model of being an "independent" person. Independence is held in high esteem, and dependence is seen as a fault. However, the whole idea of indepndence is out of touch with reality. At best, all human beings are interdependent, not only on other human beings, but on nature as well. The book "When Society Becomes An Addict" by Anne Wilson-Schaef might give you more information about what I think is really going on.
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