The phenomenon of crimes witnessed but uninterrupted shouldn t shock. It seems painfully obvious to me not only that we are on our own in this world, but also that such a statement fails to inspire the anger or frustration that it should. The primacy of the individual in this culture prevents the formation of a true community. We are all so busy guarding our property, boosting our identity and flashing our badge of exceptionality that close contact with another being is threatening. Such contact, such communal support, would seem to erode the walls of importance that we each have erected.
Community thwarts the hierarchy of good, better, best.
This horror of community isn t new, it exists even in our nation s creation myth. The Native Americans brought a turkey casserole over to greet their new neighbors. To show thanks, the Pilgrims served them with an eviction notice. The ludicrous proposal to teach Ebonics in a California school district so as to boost the morale of young African-American children is just one example of the destructive extremes of this country s individualism. While such a policy might have made the children feel good as youngsters, I can t imagine that they would appreciate it working for six dollars an hour with substandard English.