Thursday, November 14, 2019
Individualism in Habits of The Heart Essay -- essays research papers
Habits of The Heart create a vision of the middle class American life with all its good, bad, strengths and weaknesses. Its examines the conflict that exists between individuality and community in this country, as well as how these conflicts effect our ability to form relationships with others, whether it is in a public arena or our own intimate relationships with family and friends. The very word individualism means to look out for number one, it implies a me society that has lost itââ¬â¢s way from the way it use to be. The title ââ¬Å"Habits Of The Heartâ⬠creates images of love, faith, hope and commitment to others, a sense of belonging to something larger than yourself. Does individualism really exist, or is it that people tend to forget where they came from and how much they really are influenced by family, community and others around them. In ââ¬Å"Habits Of The Heartâ⬠Bellah et al write that ââ¬Å"they attempt to follow Tocqueville and call it individualismâ⬠. This they say is the first language in which Americans tend to think about their lives, values independence and self-reliance above all else (Viii). Americans separate work, family and community, when in fact, these worlds must be combined. We are hiding in such "lifestyle enclaves," our isolated existence limits our ability to relate ourselves to a broader community. The virtue of community interaction lies in its ability to provide meaning to the frustrating mechanisms of politics and combat the "inevitable loneliness of the separate self" (Bellah et. al., 190). It seems our definition of success is related to our own individuality. Our view of success is rooted in the outcome of competition among individuals. Americans seem quick to claim that we have each succeeded through their o... ...t create ourselves. That we owe what we are to the communities that helped form usâ⬠(Bellah et. al., P. 295). We have a long history in this country of others who gave and sacrificed so much so we could have our present. We must understand that life is to be shared, it is not a race whose only ââ¬Å"goal is to he foremostâ⬠(Bellah et. al., P. 296). It is to be lived. We must be committed to those we love, and to our communities. Maybe the longing for nostalgia in this country can help to return to a time when family, friends, community, church and more were important and we all knew we were part of something greater than ourselves. We must however not live in the past, we must use the past to build and focus on the future. Work Citied Bellah, et.al.(1996). Habits of the heart: Individualism and commitment in American life. Berkeley: University of California Press.
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