http://hesitating.org/2006/05/10/the-individual-vs-what/ Thinking critically about the world so that you don't have to. Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:25:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://hesitating.org/2006/05/10/the-individual-vs-what/#comment-7 Brendan Wed, 10 May 2006 22:37:52 +0000 http://hesitating.org/blogs/?p=19#comment-7 Individualism is also a pretty American creation although Western-European countries are pretty loose in many ways... Contrast the importance of family/group between Japan and America, or even Latinos and Whites... When I was in elementary school there was a big deal made of other people's family cultures, of 'extended families' vs. the nuclear... The large clan existence was illustrated using ethnic examples from African village co-operatives to Chinese immigrants living with their naturalized relations... America was consistantly been viewed as this 'go it alone' badlands where you could break from the group and become a singular person of status which seems to have become a popular modern notion through the western film and car commercials... America, birthplace of marketing and public relations, sells the dream of individuality along with all of its other pre-packaged dreams... The rest of the world may just be catching up... Can we be unique snowflakes and part of something greater? I'm sure people are everywhere but you won't see a commercial for it nor a newspaper column about it... Individualism is also a pretty American creation although Western-European countries are pretty loose in many ways… Contrast the importance of family/group between Japan and America, or even Latinos and Whites… When I was in elementary school there was a big deal made of other people’s family cultures, of ‘extended families’ vs. the nuclear… The large clan existence was illustrated using ethnic examples from African village co-operatives to Chinese immigrants living with their naturalized relations… America was consistantly been viewed as this ‘go it alone’ badlands where you could break from the group and become a singular person of status which seems to have become a popular modern notion through the western film and car commercials… America, birthplace of marketing and public relations, sells the dream of individuality along with all of its other pre-packaged dreams… The rest of the world may just be catching up… Can we be unique snowflakes and part of something greater? I’m sure people are everywhere but you won’t see a commercial for it nor a newspaper column about it…

]]>