The United States is a nation that may be on the extreme end of valuing the individual and independence. This value has been shaped by the colonial history of the nation and the character of many of the people who migrated to the shores of the New World. Most of these immigrants were people who had loose ties to their communities back in Europe, otherwise they wouldn’t have seen migration as a viable alternative to life in Europe. They may have been on the losing side of a European civil war or a religious faction that was being persecuted, victims of draught or crop blight that destroyed their ability to function economically, or they may have been the younger children in large families and needed to set out on their own if they were to survive. They valued the ability of the individual to set goals for himself and to struggle to achieve those goals. When the goals were achieved, it was the individual who took credit for the achievement.
I was walking past the magazine rack at the grocery store the other day and noticed a magazine whose cover showed a tough looking man with a beard, a rifle and clothed in leather and fur. He was the ideal frontiersman. He was the epitome of the independent individualist who needed no one to survive…not just survive, but thrive. The frontiersman escaped from the complexity of city life and lived on the edge of society. He hunted for food. Made his own clothing and tools. He was tough and independent, relying on no one. He didn’t trust big government, for fear it would interfere with his freedom and independence. What he did rely on was his gun. It was his essential hunting tool and weapon for self-defense. He was not one to show many emotions but could be relied on in times of trouble. It was his efforts and hard work that transformed the wilderness. The frontiersman was the supreme individualist.
The frontiersman embodied the values and dreams of the migrants from Europe who found the rigidity and complexity of life in Europe too limiting. While not everyone could live up to the ideal of the frontiersman, he became a mythic hero to many.
This has changed little. Today the independent and individualistic frontiersman remains a cultural icon in the United States. Just walkdown Main street in any American city and you will see many men wearing hunting gear, sporting ragged beards and driving monster pickups; all contemporary symbols for the frontiersman. If you have a chance to look at his firearms there will certainly be a semiautomatic weapon among them. It has no value as a tool for hunting, rather it symbolizes the potency of its owner. It is a contemporary identification with the frontiersman.
Part of what helped Trump to get elected president was his campaign appeal to populist and Libertarian frontiersman values, even if his subsequent actions only reflect a deep loyalty to the monied elites of which he is a member.
These frontiersman values are also reflected in a capitalism in America that, going far beyond the realm of economic theory, reaches the point of religious fervor at times. This somewhat mystical view of economics sees the economy as a self-correcting entity, even in the face of clear evidence that the economy is not always self-correcting and needs some regulation if it is to remain a level playing field for all and not just a tool for the wealthy.
This can be seen in the campaign when the Pope expressed concern over an out of control capitalism and many politicians did their best to disparage the Pope’s comments, his competence as an economic theorist or the inappropriateness of religious leaders speaking about issues of moral consequence, such as economic policy. It was almost as if the Pope had uttered heresy.
This extreme level of individualism is somewhat of an aberration, as the more common value among the nations of the world is a sense of community. This finds expression in seeking the common good. While individualism places the rights of the individual at the apex of values, seeking the common good places the rights of the community at the apex of values. What policy is the most beneficial to the greatest number of community members, without compromising basic values. This approach has room for honoring the rights of the individual but always within the context of what is best for the community. This emphasis on the community and its needs is essential to the Church’s understanding of the common good, which includes what is beneficial to the salvation and sanctification of the individual and the community. Thus, economic and political values must be tempered by what is moral and leads to spiritual growth.
