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I learned a while back that people express concern for others not because they care but because they need a reaffirmation that all is right in the world. A smile is what everyone hopes to see at the end of an interaction because it means whatever problems might exist are in fact surmountable and can be dealt with. Problems, solutions, ideas and issues are compartmentalized so that they cannot become more important than the individual who deals with them.

We live in an individual-based culture, basically each person views achieving their own personal goals and dreams as paramount importance. This idea leads to such things as human rights and social justice and equality. However, now that we have those things and others that are the theoretical results of an individualist society, what is left? People are now more free than ever to do as they please, reach for the sky and do what they want. This is true of the West, but I cannot speak for the eastern half of the globe, since I’ve been told that  these cultures are in general based on collective ideals. We live in a society based on differences, Canada is built on immigration, and anyone will agree that western countries, because of their financial prosperity, are more likely to see immigrants and different cultures.

In our individual culture, we are now more free than ever to do as we want. There is a tipping point to this. The fact that we have raised the individual to a level of importance usually reserved for royalty has led to a certain amount of disconnection between us. We seek affirmation that our own existence is on the right track, and thus the sense of community that leads to what we call society is being lost. Our concerns and dealings with other people are more selfish than in the past. The internet, the greatest communications tool humanity has, is contributing to this more and more. Social networking is a new phenomenon that has implications that extend far beyond the infinite reaches of cyberspace. We are changing what it is to know someone. For most people, knowing someone means that you have a certain insight into their nature, that you have spoken with them, that you have of sense of who they are. However, the change that is happening revolves around the same problem of individualist society as a whole. We are increasingly beginning to have the perception that meeting someone and knowing what they look like or reading their online profile is enough to know a person. We do this to feel connected to people without having to sacrifice our individuality and power over ourselves.

Disconnection is become a daily reality in our world, spurred by the internet and an individualist society with no collective sense of purpose. We have no definition to our existence, life is a dynamic, constantly shifting series of realities and decisions. Large movements and issues such as the movement to fight climate change and the whole host of economic problems we face are a possible source of collectivity, but we are so far gone in our own little lives that even when we see the big picture, it is only a picture, a representation of reality that can compartmentalized like anything else. We have gained too much self control, we even control when we lose control, think of all the drug use that permeates our intensely bored society. It is becoming more and more difficult to engage in anything that transcends our own life, not that utilitarianism is the best way, but we are losing sight of the major insight it had, that acting for the whole is at the basis of society.

Now, our concerns for others are expressed for ourselves, and we hope to see a smile.