From community to individualism and back

My life was shaped by community. I was the fifth of seven children. No one in our home had his or her own room. I shared a bed with an older brother. He and I shared the bedroom with our older brother. We had a living room that served all nine of the household members. We shared one bathroom and one dining room. We thought ourselves quite modern because we had one radio. One telephone, of course. We shared responsibilities both inside and outside of our home. I never remember fights or arguments over rights, responsibilities or territories. We valued one another and watched out for one another. We loved one another.

Our next circle of community was church. Church was a family thing. All nine of us were full participants. We knew everyone and everyone knew us. We hugged one another without fear. We were brothers and sisters in Christ. We sang together, prayed together and worked together.

I grew up in a small farm town. It was small enough that we all knew one another. It was a safe place even though we had no police department. I was aware of economic and political differences within the community, but we were community with strong commitments to community. We had a wide variety of community organizations. Fairbury was a friendly and safe place. I lived in one house until military service and college uprooted me.

Family, church and a small town shaped my life. At that time, America was still largely rural and life was scattered across the country in small towns. I suspect I was quite typical of America.

World War II was a giant fruit basket upset. Eleven million young people (8 percent of the American population) became a part of the military and were scattered around the world. Millions of other Americans were uprooted and joined in the industrial support of a nation in total war. The United States won the great war and became incredibly prosperous. For Americans, relocation from out of traditional settings into new frontiers was the norm. The development of transportation made moving easy. Education opened new vocations. The three communities that gave me identity were destroyed or at least severely battered. The focus of life became highly individualistic and the experience and values of community were lost.

People had more money than ever. Houses doubled in size. Family size took a major downturn. Having your own room, your own TV set, radio and telephone became an accepted standard. Women entered the work force in World War II and have never left. Every adult has now acquired his or her own car and drives to a workplace removed from the area of residence. Freeways have filled with cars with one occupant. Family relationships have changed unalterably. The number of family meals with table conversations has plummeted. Eating fast food on the run has skyrocketed.

In this process a typical American has lost his or her sense of community. The security that is cultivated in community has largely disappeared and has been replaced with anxiety and fears.

American religion has followed the same path. Led by Billy Graham and a host of radio and television preachers, Christian salvation was individualized. Salvation can be defined many different ways. However a believer might define salvation, the last half of the 20th century fostered the idea that a person can find salvation and be right with God without a community. For most of the history of Christian churches, a person was baptized into a church fellowship of some kind. Today, the individualized Christian feels little need to be an every week participant in a church body of fellow believers. Many of the individualized believers are moving from congregation to congregation more often than they change addresses or trade cars.

I have narrated a generalized version of what has happened to American life in the past 60 to 70 years. The story can be verified with hard research and statistical analysis. Many believe that the developed patterns that promote individualism are not sustainable. I agree. Radical changes are inevitable. A return to the structures of community from the past, that were so helpful to me, will not happen. History does not circle back and repeat. History moves forward in ever-changing social, religious, economic and political forms and patterns. However, I strongly suspect that one thing will not change. To be saved, to become whole people, we need one another. We must have community.

At the heart of the teachings of Jesus was concern for neighbor. We need to take his advice. Only love of God had a higher priority. A narcissistic concern for self has become the killing disease of Americans. America and its citizens will find joy and happiness when the well-being of our neighbors becomes more important than self, and we foster a return to community.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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