I want to take a stab at our cultural norms and values--particularly those that we practice in adulthood. As Washington City Paper's Franklin Schneider calls it in his article Against Adulthood , adulthood is the "biggest sham of all" when it comes to our societal norms, yet people strive for these institutions that they cannot possibly (in his mind) find joy in.
Being young, you are always pushing for more responsibilities and freedoms, you're ready to be an adult and to be on your own. Once you become an adult, however, you might see that freedom comes with a price. Yes, you get to live on your own (if you want), but you have to pay for it. In order to pay for it, you need a job. Getting a job has certain requirements and expectations--a certain number of hours you have to work, permission to take off days, etc. In order to keep that roof over your head, you have to exchange a certain majority of the hours in your week. In order to maintain our "freedom" and keep ourselves housed, clothed, fed, and healthy, we have to report to a job day in and day out. As Schneider says, "But the “independence” of the employed is so conditional as to be nonexistent: i.e., you’re independent as long as you keep coming to work every single day in perpetuity. (Similar to the “freedom” found in today’s America; you’re free to do anything, as long as you do nothing.)"
Of course I understand that in order for society to function, people have to contribute and do their share. I believe in that and think that's great--community and communal living are effective and amazing. There are real benefits there. As Schneider goes on to discuss, however, so many jobs society has created are either totally pointless or to the extreme of being detrimental to society, almost evil--jobs that are about selling cigarettes or guns, or getting rich on advertising products that we "need"--tricking people into these ideas of what life should look like.
While the article is a bit harsh and certainly over the top, I found myself agreeing with some of the points Schneider makes about adult family life, children, working and having a career, and the societal norms and expectations. These institutions of adulthood--marriage, children, and having a career, are surprisingly unchallenged in this country and people accept that these are what they must do--that somehow this is what freedom looks like.
Schneider chalks up this "settling down" as a way of coping with fear of the unknown, of having some security, of not having to make big decisions.
What I found most fascinating about reading this article, however, was how it coincided with some other reading i've been doing. I'm also currently reading The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything, by James Martin, S.J., and I'm reading a chapter about living simply and why nuns, monks, priests, etc are called to be celibate.
According to this school of thought, living a life devoid of extras and frivolities, is the key to freedom. There is no joy in having money, and for the most part, money and extra should be distributed to the poor, besides for necessity. When you take yourself out of the race for all the new gadgets and owning the best stuff and spending money and having things, you learn to live with what you have and be content in that. Living simply and not lusting after material objects or fortune allows for some detachment. This is part of finding freedom through the Jesuit tradition.
The second step in that is those that choose to become part of the order, give up having marriages, children, and living in a nuclear family unit. Since they are detached from these obligations, they are able of finding their purpose wherever they are called--across continents, with old friends or new acquaintances, moving every 3 years or 3 months, in a variety of projects, assignments, and jobs. The very same family unit that so many in our society hold so dear and expect to give life is ultimately detracting them from a life of freedom and mobility, in this example. This is the very reason that those in religious orders are called to be single and celibate--so that they can fully involve themselves in their work and be available for whatever they might be called to do. They have chosen this life so that they might freely go as they please, with no material things to burden them, nor a nuclear family tethered to them.
It's telling, I think, that two very different world views have hit upon the same ideas of freedom and detachment. Neither are what an average American might call normal--but they've both found freedom in not having what we're all taught to want--money, career, children, marriage, fame, success, fortune.
Being young, you are always pushing for more responsibilities and freedoms, you're ready to be an adult and to be on your own. Once you become an adult, however, you might see that freedom comes with a price. Yes, you get to live on your own (if you want), but you have to pay for it. In order to pay for it, you need a job. Getting a job has certain requirements and expectations--a certain number of hours you have to work, permission to take off days, etc. In order to keep that roof over your head, you have to exchange a certain majority of the hours in your week. In order to maintain our "freedom" and keep ourselves housed, clothed, fed, and healthy, we have to report to a job day in and day out. As Schneider says, "But the “independence” of the employed is so conditional as to be nonexistent: i.e., you’re independent as long as you keep coming to work every single day in perpetuity. (Similar to the “freedom” found in today’s America; you’re free to do anything, as long as you do nothing.)"
Of course I understand that in order for society to function, people have to contribute and do their share. I believe in that and think that's great--community and communal living are effective and amazing. There are real benefits there. As Schneider goes on to discuss, however, so many jobs society has created are either totally pointless or to the extreme of being detrimental to society, almost evil--jobs that are about selling cigarettes or guns, or getting rich on advertising products that we "need"--tricking people into these ideas of what life should look like.
While the article is a bit harsh and certainly over the top, I found myself agreeing with some of the points Schneider makes about adult family life, children, working and having a career, and the societal norms and expectations. These institutions of adulthood--marriage, children, and having a career, are surprisingly unchallenged in this country and people accept that these are what they must do--that somehow this is what freedom looks like.
Schneider chalks up this "settling down" as a way of coping with fear of the unknown, of having some security, of not having to make big decisions.
What I found most fascinating about reading this article, however, was how it coincided with some other reading i've been doing. I'm also currently reading The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything, by James Martin, S.J., and I'm reading a chapter about living simply and why nuns, monks, priests, etc are called to be celibate.
According to this school of thought, living a life devoid of extras and frivolities, is the key to freedom. There is no joy in having money, and for the most part, money and extra should be distributed to the poor, besides for necessity. When you take yourself out of the race for all the new gadgets and owning the best stuff and spending money and having things, you learn to live with what you have and be content in that. Living simply and not lusting after material objects or fortune allows for some detachment. This is part of finding freedom through the Jesuit tradition.
The second step in that is those that choose to become part of the order, give up having marriages, children, and living in a nuclear family unit. Since they are detached from these obligations, they are able of finding their purpose wherever they are called--across continents, with old friends or new acquaintances, moving every 3 years or 3 months, in a variety of projects, assignments, and jobs. The very same family unit that so many in our society hold so dear and expect to give life is ultimately detracting them from a life of freedom and mobility, in this example. This is the very reason that those in religious orders are called to be single and celibate--so that they can fully involve themselves in their work and be available for whatever they might be called to do. They have chosen this life so that they might freely go as they please, with no material things to burden them, nor a nuclear family tethered to them.
It's telling, I think, that two very different world views have hit upon the same ideas of freedom and detachment. Neither are what an average American might call normal--but they've both found freedom in not having what we're all taught to want--money, career, children, marriage, fame, success, fortune.
--Megan
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