Modern America and the diminishing individual

The impudence, indifference, and self-centeredness evidenced by some Americans are symptomatic of a contemporary national malaise. This behavior largely is attributable to social change brought about by the combination of physical circumstances and recent history. There are greater numbers of people engaging in more diverse hyperactivity than ever before. The dream of a better life has become confused with one that merely is more complicated. Cyberspace provides a compelling escape for millions to a simulated environment over which they can impose a measure of order and control. Indeed, modern life sometimes seems to resemble an unpleasant, mindless video game.

Individual significance in society commonly diminishes in direct proportion to the number of people. A fundamental problem in contemporary America is lack of regard for the individual. This is obvious in the way many treat each other, on a social basis and in business dealings. Although this has been true to a greater or lesser extent throughout history, it particularly is evident in the U.S. today. Its most common manifestations are the ubiquitous rudeness, impatience, noise, road rage, and lack of personal attention and consideration that we are forced to endure each day. With so many people to attend to--and exacerbated by perpetual cost-cutting--availability and quality of services as well as the affability of those who provide them typically decrease. Wouldn't it be grand if we could be compensated monetarily for all the time we have been kept waiting for services or to communicate with a human being face to face or on the telephone? People increasingly complain of being reduced to a number. They are not even that if the army of information handlers does not access and process their records correctly.

On occasion, individuals have the identity and history of another bestowed upon them. The 2000 census counted 285,000,000 people. Despite the average number of children in the American family decreasing from 3.7 during the post-World War II baby boom to 2.0 at present, our population has not yet peaked. It should stabilize in 50 or 60 years. Since the current birthrate is below the replacement reproduction figure of 2.1, our population then would begin to drop. However, these calculations do not consider immigration, which accounts for more than 90% of population growth. Some immigrants continue the tradition of large families, as do some socially conservative Americans. Human behavior deteriorates when many people are crowded closely together, contending elbow to elbow for the same space without respite. Degradation of behavior and the undermining of serenity, comfort, and public safety can be observed everywhere, from large cities to small towns.

The notion of the small town or city as an oasis of tranquility often is quaint--and illusory--nowadays. If development takes place, main roads and centers of supply can be just as congested and gridlocked as those in large cities. The effects of crowding become more acute with prolonged contact. The consequences of an expanding population are inescapable, and negatively influence most aspects of life. The omnipresent cell phone is a symbol of the accelerating pace of living, and those who use them in public places impose what many bystanders consider unwanted noise. Some feel compelled to use these devices even if they have no real need for them. The perception of increased competition results in significantly higher stress levels. This correlation is evident in a variety of antisocial behavior, from irritating to homicidal.

The Vietnam War and its aftermath made a fundamental, enduring contribution to what we have termed modern American callousness. We still are subject to the effects of what Pres. Ronald Reagan termed "the Vietnam syndrome." This was the U.S.'s loss of confidence in its military efficacy and national power. It also indicated a breakdown of values and self-confidence in a nation that had won two world wars and contained the Soviet threat. During the antiwar protest years, traditional certainties often seemed platitudinous and irrelevant, and so came under attack. A fateful change was that the idealism motivating many citizens, pro- and anti-war alike, was replaced by widespread cynicism and disillusionment as the conflict continued. Moral and ethical values increasingly became ambiguous. A nation whose prevalent tendency throughout its history was idealism underwent a comprehensive shift toward nihilism. When people cannot find meaning in concepts, commonly expressed in ideals and beliefs, they are likely to seek it in things. In the wake of the lost war, humankind's eternal pursuit of mammon was to be taken up in the U.S. with renewed vigor--one might even say vehemence.

The quest for wealth and aggrandizement, encompassing all, from individuals to corporate giants, emerged in the 1980s---for many as the meaning of life, or a substitute for meaning. Its implicit, crass philosophy is more pervasive than ever today: Greed is good; bigger is better; more is better still. No wonder there was the emergence of the ostentatious "yuppie" lifestyle. Regarding material goods, "He or she who finishes the game with the most toys wins." This inane philosophy is nothing more than vulgar social Darwinism: Those who possess wealth, power, and their trappings constitute the elite, and thus demonstrate superiority in the struggle for existence.

Concomitant with the new materialism was another ominous development--an upsurge of amoral self-interest that continues to infect all strata of society. Most people increasingly have been rendered vulnerable to depredations by those who can exercise power over them by satisfying essential needs. More than ever, many possessors of such power present an implicit challenge to the public: "You cannot (or will not) live without what we offer, and we provide services on our terms." The casual use of the term "food chain" in recent years to describe our societal hierarchy and the individual's position in it is revealing. It is as if our citizens rank from protozoans up to deities. One easily can come away with the impression that, in practice, a widespread inversion of roles has taken place. Many who offer indispensable services act as though the public exists merely to sustain them comfortably in positions of power.

In a society that conspicuously engenders individual insignificance, no justification is needed for charging exorbitant fees and prices. Without restraint, these numbers only will increase--and not just to cover costs and keep pace with the rate of inflation. Service providers exist in a realm beyond questioning by most mortals. After all, they do not need the individual consumer to make a living. If someone is dissatisfied with services rendered and decides to go elsewhere, it is of little or no concern to tradesmen--so long as that party does not take legal action. They know several others will appear to take his or her place. Next! This particularly is apparent in interaction with many who provide what passes for one-on-one personal service.

In such instances, indifference and callousness have a face and a name. For example, most of us are at the mercy of automotive technicians. How often do their fees and prices realistically correspond with the actual value of services provided or the worth of parts replaced? Automotive labor rates were haft what they are at present just a half-dozen years ago. The work done now is neither twice as difficult nor its quality twice as good. Yet, a figure of $70 per hour is justified because those running these establishments will it. Since they are aware owners are dependent to a large degree upon the vehicle the shop is repairing, top dollar cheerfully is charged.

The frequency of collisions is higher than ever before due to the unprecedented number of vehicles on the road and the increasingly frenzied pace at which they are operated. Motorists should take care not to bend any metal, for significant damage will gain them admission to an auto body repair shop. Fees for parts and labor are daunting. The average age of the American car has been rising steadily due to the ever-increasing cost of new models. Motorists who have removed collision insurance from older vehicles may find the expense of repairing even minor damage prohibitive. That is why more than a few cars sport unintentionally altered styling. So long as an auto is functional and can pass inspection, owners will live with body damage.

Many fee-charging professionals feel less compunction in today's febrile environment about deriving gain from their advantageous position and privileged status. They consider themselves entitled to as much treasure as the public can give them and more. The practitioners Americans fear seeing more than any other are oral prospectors, known to the public as dentists. As for medical doctors, their fees were the first cause of today's rapacious health care morass.

Heightened callousness is unmistakable in the depersonalization and disregard of customers by business except as targets for advertising and entities to be billed. The stealth interlopers called telemarketers are a prime example. The most spectacular and thus newsworthy example is corporate malfeasance. Such disclosures reveal the ethical vacuum that some at the highest levels of American corporate life have come to inhabit. Their machinations reflect the contemporary national malaise writ large. Immense power, resources, and opportunity allow a proportional exercise of personal and institutional amorality, at times shading into immorality.

This is apparent in the business practices of numerous corporations, and their increasingly flagrant disdain for employee well-being. The depths of debasement have been reached in the behavior of that most profitable of industries: pharmaceuticals. Increasing profits is the sole criterion. This insensate stance can be maintained since numerous individuals in government are beholden to the pharmaceutical industry, which has more lobbyists in Washington than there are members of Congress.

It indeed is fitting that the Bush Administration should preside over such a grim, uncaring era. "Compassionate conservatism" is as cynical an oxymoron as has ever been presented to the American people.

Peter J. Cooper is a freelance writer residing in Nashua, N.H.

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