Uniformity pt. 1

Nick did a great post about the idea of collective identity in his last post in which the theory of collectivism vs the individual in Japanese culture is still as strong as always, reinforced by the "uniform" that people where in various aspects of their lives. http://gaijindesune.blogspot.com/

Nick, I have a question for you and then something for you to consider...you said the Japanese enjoy the uniform...I have no idea if this is true but I would put forth that I'm not sure if they enjoy the uniform but adhere strictly to its values. I base this only on a very small sampling of Japanese culture that heroically presents the individual against the collective. You see it in countless video games and serials that seem to focus on the idea of "the one" breaking free from the rigidity of their surroundings. Almost always they seem to be a part of the larger society, look relatively the same but something sets them apart. Small pieces of clothing or hairstyle. The japanese loner is omnipresent in many of these mediums, struggling to come to terms with his "individualness" (yes i made that word up) and how to use it in either a positive or negative manner. Social control mechanisms and adherence to the collective seem to be paramount values in this type of society.

Growing up there were always stories of the "japanese loner" that all of a sudden lashes out at the society around them committing some nefarious act against the collective ideal(society) or the individual struggling to break out (themselves). These circumstances happen in most corners of this earth, but seem so perfectly set up for Japanese society. Suicide rates in Japan remain very high due to extreme pressure to fit either a familial ideal (concentric society) or the national ideal (society at large).

This is also common in asian cultures in general, the focus on the collective or group and de-emphasis on the individual. Religion has played a large part in this. Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism all to varying degrees profess the collective ideals rather than the individuals ideals. Many times the focus upon individual is to destroy or subdue the ego and become conscious of the collective forces that bind humanity to the individual. Simply put it is through collective unity that individual harmony prospers.

Consider this against the Western ideal. The Western religions (Islam included) support are geared towards the individual. There is ONE god. The prophet of any one religion is just that, THE PROPHET. Western thought is the inverse of the asiatic thought, chiefly that through individual struggle the collective is strengthened. Use Jesus Christ or Mohammed as examples. Both went against the norm of their days, against the collective societies of their days to benefit mankind. The Jesus story even has the overarching sacrifice of the individual for the collective salvation. Compare that to the earlier idea of the individual attempt in Japanese society to be different or be something other than a cog in the machine and perhaps we see where we might be headed in the future. Perhaps asian society starts to embrace the individual more and more, breaking from the collective and in the West we become more and more collective to thwart the idea of an individual being the all-important mechanism in our society.

Or maybe it doesn't happen at all and respectively become fantasies about what is possible within our societies. Or maybe it is bubbling on the surface in our part of the world to become more collective. I suppose this happens when populations either reach a breaking point or become so densely packed that a collective identity is needed to bind individuals to greater causes or towards ideals that benefit the group. China, India and Japan are densely populated nations and while Canada isn't in that group, North American society in general is becoming more densely populated. Communism in Europe was born of the spectre that in Russia foremost and Europe overall people needed to feel a kinship towards each other rather than individual rights trumping society at large. It came at a time when "Europeaness" was being threatened by the new world individualism and being surpassed as the ideal or human interaction. A collective identity was needed to allow groups to overpower individual aims at controlling the group.

Where does that leave us? Frankly I don't know and am no longer sure, but in a later post I'll try to tackle this when I look towards team sports especially Professional team sports as being more about the collective and less about the individual.

As always thanks for reading, and Nick thanks for the thinking material. It helps in getting writing going.

peacelovefreedomjustice

-s

this has been a conversation heard in the freecity."