I did get a press release form from XLibris to
approve regarding my latest book, “Do Ask, Do Tell: Speech Is a Fundamental
Right, Being Listened to Is a Privilege” (“DADT III”), which will stress that
the book is the third of a series (see Book Reviews Blog, Feb. 27).
It says that, within the United States Armed Forces
treatment of homosexuals through the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, from 1993
until 2011), I saw a mirror of the progress of my own life. True, that’s a good metaphor. Part of that reflection backtracks to the
Vietnam era military draft and deferment system.
I do think that the release gets to the core of my
argument. Sometimes a different person
can state something succinctly that “you” have been spiraling around, as if
afraid of an event horizon.
Individualism, even carried to excess, produces innovation and more
culture, and raises the standard of living for everyone over time. But individualism is predicated on a kind of
differential and inevitable inequality (I am reminded of a friend's favorite phrase, "inevitable epigrams"). As an irony, that inequality produces
instability in society, which can become uncontrollable, leading to
expropriation and revolution, if those who are more fortunate don’t use their
capabilities wisely, even in interpersonal interactions.
The other part is about family responsibility. Yes, it is sometimes imposed on people,
regardless of their own choices and “personal responsibility”, as with
eldercare, or with childless or single adults suddenly raising siblings’
children after family tragedies. Family
is both a creator of individualism and a challenge to it. There is always a moral tension between “taking
care of your own” and moving out into the world beyond family.
Another major point, not quite included in the press
release, but a corollary, would be the point that unrestrained “self-broadcast”
and asymmetric reach can become dangerous if not balanced by capacity to take
responsibility for others. Luck does have a bearing on our concept of responsibility.
I have a link with a “sneak preview” of the more
exact quote, here
A part of me can relate to what may be behind some
of these rampages by male teens and young adults (latest). Young men, especially, find that society is
making pressures on them, to serve cohesion-related needs other than their own,
in situations that for some reason make them feel humiliated (even bullied) in front of other
peers.
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