This was not at all tangential, although I see how it could be read as
such. Generally speaking, suicide is an escape from fear and self-loathing;
it's the lack of a person's ability or desire to face another day.
Concomitant with this record-breaking trend of (mainly) young men and boys
in Australia (who are closely followed by Sweden) committing suicide is
high unemployment, a well-advertised sense of Huxleyan hopefulness for the
coming brave new world, extreme levels of income disparity, rampant
individualistic consumerism, hypermediated social domains, and increasing
breakdowns in families, communities, and social infrastructures.=20
The only social structures that are apparently becoming more consolidated,
where _validity_ is concerned, are the workplace and the media. These are
now almost the only "legitimate" sources and centres of "truth" and
"individuation". Consequently, the only socially valorised commitments are
to debt and work.
The myth of heroic, rational individualism underpins _all_ of this. Call it
neo-liberalism or neo-classicism, or neo-whatever-you-want-ism. It's scary
and destructive in the manner that resonates with Edouard's sig file.
>:...................................................................:
>: In the end there would be no answers except for man=B9s power to :=20
>: endure his own folly :
>: John Sharnik, _World War I_, 1964 :
>:...................................................................:
Phil
>We do not have a smoke gun exactly, but there is a study that makes a very
broad indictment. I don't have the exact reference handy, but a group
studied the rate of depression of US immigrants coming from rural areas
outside the United States. The results where stunning. The immigrants had
twice the rates of depression compared to their fellow villages who stayed
in the country. Moreover, the risk of depression increased with exposure
to modern life. The rate of depression increased the longer a person
stayed in the United States.
>
>Now this study offers a good control group. Also as I recall, the study
period was long enough to rule out the depression as a sort of "homesick"
longing. What is suggests is that modern life is hazardous to our healths.
Suicide is one obvious if drastic remedy. However, violence, stress,
relationship difficulties, employee-burnout, and even real medical problems
such as migraines and immune system disorders can be perhaps traced to what
amounts to an allergic reaction to our modern world.
>
>For all the hype about post-modernism, I doubt we'll actually see it
before the second coming of Christ. We still live the "modern" world and
suffer from the same flawed optimism that characterize modernity. Thus, it
is no surprise that we apply various bandaids to phenomena like family
violence, road rage, suicide, and perhaps the best example of all:
depression. Once we make the conceptual leap of depression, etc. as an
allergy, then a very different diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis emerges.
The best cure for any allergy is to remove the irritating substance. =20
>
>Now if any of you budding entrepreneur types has plans for a "Modernity
filter" - You'll be relieving the world all the way to the bank!
Realistically however, as a society, we need to confront Modernity as a
whole - try to understand what makes it hostile to human life, and actively
take steps to blunt the irritants as much as possible. It will take strong
government intervention and lot of experimentation. The French attempt to
cut the work week to 37 hours is I think precisely the sorts of things to
try. However, quibbling about which institution is more evil really
utterly misses the point. Basically all of human life is stuck in a valley
underneath a huge dam - with *LOTS* of leaks. I can't just fix one leak -
we've got to go after them all!
>
>Peace, Edouard
>=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
>Edouard Lagache, PhD
>Webmaster - Lecturer
>Information Technologies
>U.C. San Diego, Division of Extended Studies
>Voice: (619) 622-5758, FAX: (619) 622-5742
>email: elagache who-is-at weber.ucsd.edu
>:...................................................................:
>: In the end there would be no answers except for man=B9s power to :=20
>: endure his own folly :
>: John Sharnik, _World War I_, 1964 :
>:...................................................................:
>
>
Phil Graham
p.graham who-is-at qut.edu.au
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/8314/index.html