Transitions for a Modern Era
100 years ago today the first gas
station opened in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. This achievement is far more than
just an obscure factoid, it’s a remarkable reminder of how far technology has
come in a short time. The birth of mass automotive transportation was exactly
one century ago, and we now live in a time of supersonic jets, drone missile
strikes, and Facebook. The cultivation of large scale communication and
information sharing through the development of radio, telephone, television,
the internet, and transportation technologies has ushered in a transitional era
of cultural visibility and cross pollination that is resulting in the blurring
of traditional ideologies. This, along with a widespread movement toward a more
secular, humanist society, is making the concept of established rites of
passage irrelevant, while promoting exploration of the Self and construction of
individual rites of passage.
Progress towards becoming a fully
actualized human being despite the confusion that stems from not having
concrete cultural traditions comes in the form of identity cultivation. This
process continues for one’s entire life, but it begins at a very young age. In
“The Teening of Childhood” Kay Hymnowitz comments on commerical marketing to
children: “The media’s ‘liberation’ of children from adults also has the
mischievous effect of binding them more closely to the peer group. In turn, the
peer group polices its members’ dress and behavior according to rules set by
this unrecognized authority (the media).” Hymnowitz highlights one of the most
powerful influences on identity establishment in modern society, which is the
influence of advertisement and media in our daily lives. For children in
particular, tradition and family bonding have taken a backseat to promotional
marketing, which instills a false sense of independence in kids in order to
fulfill capitalist ulterior motives. This process causes the bypass of a
spectacular period of childhood discovery that defines who we will become, and
it is one of the pitfalls of the transitional period we find ourselves in now.
With information coming at us from different angles all the time from sources
with various agendas, it’s nearly impossible not begin identifying oneself by
what is presented to us as desirable everywhere we go. This depersonalization
of identity formation will continue, but with time we will better understand
the effects of mass marketing and be more able to distance ourselves from its
influence on individual development.
One of the most compelling
developments that is spurring the transition from localized culture to globalized
culture is the improvement and increased availability of communication
technology around the world. With the advent of the Internet the free exchange
of ideas from long distance has never been so easy, and for the first time in
our history we are able to network cultures from across the globe. This is an
incredibly powerful tool, but it is also causing complacency and what Robert
Bly calls a “sibling society.” He says: “We see what’s coming out the side view
mirror. It seems like intimacy; maybe not intimacy as much as proximity; maybe
not proximity as much as sameness. Americans who are 20 years old see others
who look like them in Bosnia, Greece, China, France, Brazil, Germany, and
Russia, wearing the same jeans, listening to the same music, speaking a
universal language that computer literacy demands.” Bly asserts that this
sameness and feeling of vital connection to peer groups (“siblings”) that exist
elsewhere creates a culture of self-satisfied people who are set in their ways
and unable to escape “half-adulthood.” This could be seen as a function of not
having established rites of passage, but it is more a crisis personal identity
than yearning for cultural structure. In Bly’s example for instance, people
from all over the world may be wearing the same clothes and listening to the
same music, but that doesn’t mean that you can standardize what it means to
become a fully actualized adult for them. Societal rigidity in the form of
established rites of passage are no longer effective in preparing people for
adulthood because the lines between cultures have been blurred by the
dissemination of information on the Internet and other communication mediums.
We are at the center of a massive
shift in the way humanity organizes itself, and such a transitional time comes
with difficulties. Much of the social unrest of the last hundred years has
stemmed from a communication breakdown during changing times, often with one
side taking a more progressive stance and the other side defending what is
considered acceptable. As established rites of passage become more irrelevant
and self-discovery becomes paramount, conflicts over ideology should become
less severe due to a greater level of understanding and open-mindedness that
has been promoted by more effective ways of communicating. Society may be
suffering some now, but the improvement and increased availability of ways to
exchange ideas will result in a much more peaceful, understanding world.
Holding on to ideas that expect
cookie-cutter remedies, the medical industry in the West has failed to adapt to
the changing times. Over diagnosis of personality disorders and immoderate
prescription of powerful mood-altering drugs has left little room for argument
about the value of truly individualized medicine, which is few and far between
these days. Melvin Urofsky provides two powerful examples of the
depersonalization and down right disrespect that the medical industry can
display in “Two Scenes From A Hospital.” Urofsky tells the story of Rocco
Musolino who, after suffering a series of heart attacks, was kept alive by
machine for 102 days after explicitly stating that he did not want to die that
way in his will. His tale is one of doctors playing God and thinking that they
always know what’s in a patient’s best interest, which is certainly not the
case when they are ignoring precisely what the patient has legally stated they
want. Dealing with issues of death causes one to examine what it means to die
and feel at peace with death, which will always be different for each
individual. Urofsky’s story is sad because Musolino was cheated out of the
greatest rite of passage in life: the passage into death. This is an extremely
personal journey, and the preparation for leaving the Earthly realm shouldn’t
involve doctors telling you what you can and cannot do. Everyone has the right
to live a healthful life and die in whatever way is most comfortable to them,
but when outside opinions and ideas are introduced the entire situation is no
longer a journey of personal transition, but a morbid power grab to impose one
individual’s beliefs on another in their weakest moment.
The value of rites of passage cannot
be overstated, but modern times call for modern solutions, and it is clear that
the methods of implementation for these rites in the past will no longer work
in the digital age. Broad generalizations and conventional wisdom no longer
apply in a society where the each individual is valued for the uniqueness and
ability to defy convention. This type of society will foster far-reaching
cultural growth and result in a period of unprecedented innovation that will
align with technology’s rapid evolution to promote a dynamic society unlike
anything humanity has ever established before. The progression from the transitional
phase we find ourselves in now, and the endgame of a truly globalized culture
will not be an easy one. The creation of new communication technology and the
movement toward a more humanist society that values individualism and
innovation over bland conformism will continue to make established rites of
passage irrelevant, until it is an archaic idea all together. Modern society
will embrace personality and promote everyone to find their own way, so that
together we can overcome the exclusionist ideologies of the past and enter a
new era of global culture and mutual respect.
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