Individualism

I found an article about the marketing strategies that pushed bottled water into our lifestyle to the extent that now “an entire generation is growing up thinking that drinking water comes in plastic bottles.” The author has written an entire book about the topic, but the article focuses on our throw-away-mentality and hyper-individualism. Aha, a new qualifier! In my search to find out more about this new description of our changing community, I found a firm in Colorado that works with public schools. They have attributed four key forces that fuel hyper-individualism.

• Abundant Variety. We have more choices available to us than at any time in history. Abundance of choice creates an expectation that every individual’s unique interests can and should be satisfied.
• Access to Knowledge. The rise of the internet gives us access to unimaginable amounts of information – but information alone is of little value. It is when information is organized into knowledge that it becomes a powerful tool.
• Personal Influence. The desire to influence decisions that affect our lives is deeply ingrained in us all. The advent of abundant variety and access to knowledge enables people to exercise personal influence like never before. Over time, people will turn to those institutions that do the best at facilitating people’s desire to make informed choices about their lives.
• End of Geography. Geography is not the organizing principal it once was. People lead their lives without regard to traditional boundaries of time and space. Neither business nor individuals feels aligned with governing bodies such as school districts the way they once did.

They think public schools will move away from the Era of School Accountability (Good-bye Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills?) and move towards the Era of the Individual Child. They offer examples of how these new assumptions may apply to the schools and offer some strategies for the new era. Hmmm....This Era of the Individual Child brings many conflicting thoughts and concerns.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made! (Psalm 139:14) You have found a myriad of combinations to create unique individuals with unique gifts, needs and personalities. Only you can answer the cries of all. We have grown in importance to ourselves, and our world enables the facade to continue. We are allowed to insulate not only from our neighbors, but also from our families spending more time with headphones than in conversation. Yes we are wonderfully made but we are not the ultimate answer to perfection. We grow in community, learning to blend talents, respecting other viewpoints, and sharing in life's joys and sorrows. Help us to continue to learn about our changing world and how we can help shape it into the cast of your dream and not our own will. Amen