These are the questions that many people in America ask. They battle with these questions everyday when they think about the way their family acts. I have also battle with these questions especially when it comes to my family. My family is one of uniqueness, which causes lots of conflicts. I battle an individualistic sister, a communitarian mother, and a civic republican brother. With all these different personalities in the house it is no wonder it seems like our house is a lifestyle enclave. Looking at my family is like looking at American homes today.
It shows the effect of a society that is all about on the go activities. My sister would be in my own words a perfect example of an individualistic person. She like in the book Habits of the Heart only deals with issues that are important to her. My sister focuses on what can make her life better and if this involves some kind of communitarian activity only then will she participate. She mostly jumps from relationship to relationship because of her need for pleasure. It matters not to my sister what is going on with the world unless it affects her personally.
A good example of this is when my sister and I volunteered at a local shelter for Thanksgiving. This is a ritual that I have keep since my grandfather past away. My sister went to the shelter this year in order to get some volunteer hours for her transcript because she wants to transfer to another college. At the shelter she saw first hand for the first time in her life people less fortunate then herself. This shook her up, and made her think about how lucky she is only then was my sister finally concerned about the homeless problem in America.
Even though, this sound likes a made for television movie they show each year, around the holidays it is true and shows how like my sister the individualistic community of America that we live in. In this way she is a perfect example of individualism in America. Moreover, my mother is on the other end of the spectrum. My mother in her own words Gives a piece of herself to everyone. She is a very good example of a communitarian. The first sample of her kindness starts with her occupation. My mother has been a junior high school teacher for 25 years. During this time many people have realized my mother’s giving and kindness for her community.
She is always willing to go above and beyond the call of duty to help make a difference in a student’s life. However, her occupation is just the start of her giving. She is also a community leader through her second career as a pastor. She has only been a preacher for 6 years however; she has been able to do a lot for her church and her community during this time. She is always bringing her work home. Like a good communitarian she does everything to help better the community. My mother has only three children but has thousands of adopted children. She loves all her children the same even the adopted ones.
A good example of this is what occurred during my last trip home. I came home because of the illness of my grandmother. My mother has to sit up with my grandmother just in case she gets up and hurts herself in the middle of the night. This is a very trying time for my mother however she took a piece of her time to counsel one of her adopted daughters. This girl was on the verge of committing suicide. My mother helped her realize how important she is to the world. My mother gives of her time to help the better of the community without personal gain. This helps show she is a good example of a communitarian.
However, my brother is different from all of us. He is what I call the good American boy. He also is a product of social groups the government made to help kids become aware of what the government is and how it runs. My brother is only 14 but tries to get involved in every political group he can get involved in. He believes without the government in our society our nation would not be as prosperous as we are. It is surprising at a young age how much involved he is in the thought of politics and government in America. He is a good example of a civic republican.
More important, the mix of a civic republican individualistic person, and a communitarian is hard to understand. A lot of times the house feels like a place that these different personalities just stay under due to the fact they are related not unlike a lifestyle enclave. We share the similar lifestyle of being a family but don’t associate with each other unless a family problem comes up. This shows how my family is a good example of a lifestyle enclave. However, my family seems to stay together and survive just like America will survive its individualistic stage of its history, and finally remember caring about community makes us stronger.