The world has become more individual-oriented than ever. There has never been a period in the past where we have cast so much attention on our “selves”. Until the 19th century, religion and community dominated people’s lives. Being a good person meant being religious or a good citizen. For a woman, being a good human being meant being a good mother and wife. Today, we have lost most of this readily available track and protocol. One of the reasons why Obama was elected was because his life has not been a mere following of protocol. Pico Lyer writes about Obama in the Nov 4th issue of Time Magazine that
this sparkling stranger was so much like the kind of people we meet in Paris, in Hong Kong, in the Middle East: difficult to place and connected to everywhere.
If one reason why Obama was elected was because the majority of people felt an affinity to him, then it could be that many of us in reality are difficult to place and connected to everywhere. In an ever more individualistic world, we have to find our “selves” while making an effort to understand multiplicity of beliefs, ideologies, sense of values being represented by one’s sexual preference or family form and styles out there.
However, how many of us realize that or want to be such a complicated person who is difficult to place and connected to everywhere?
Last year, a relationship with my work partner broke off due to a difference between our working styles. In the beginning, the relationship was broken unilaterally by her, because I was hoping that we could reconcile our differences. When I came to a hard realization that she had zero intention to work with me, the fact only dimly bothered me, because I have many other partners. However, when I heard from one of my work friends that she probably had zero intention to maintain the friendship with me because I share nothing with her in our life styles like families and hobbies, that hurt me dearly.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she voted for McCain following suit with her husband. The majority of people have their comfort zone on a concrete track and protocol. That all by itself should never be criticized or blamed. Realizing that fact and coping with it also means that we are connecting to everywhere.
In today’s world, what is focused on most is “my happiness.” Even for good mothers and wives who are like role models who devote their time and energy in their kids and husbands, it is the result of their choice to make themselves happy. The reason why bloging has been ever more prevalent is because that satisfies both “connecting to everywhere” and “pursuing my happiness through social networking.” Not to change the subject, but the reason why pet blog has been so popular in Japan (most popular site is a pet site which attracts more than 100,000 hits a day) could be because people lost objects of love in the nuclear family. Husbands are still working till late and there are no elders which yome (wives) have to take care of.
