The Nexus and the Olive Tree
Thomas Freidman's book "The Lexus and
the Olive Tree" spoke of the effects of globalization on tradition. The title seemed a perfect match for describing
the globalization phenomenon. Alright,
we weren’t all perfectly happy with the great sucking sound, but the golden
straight-jacket, though not a perfect fit, was not completely uncomfortable,
and it had, after all, a golden lining.
We could empathize very well with the fiddler's Hodel
who heard, "Oh Hodel, have I made a match for
you. He's handsome! He's young! All
right, he's 62. But he's a nice man, a
good catch. True? True! I promise you'll
be happy. And even if you're not, there's more to life than that. Don't ask me
what! May the Lord protect and defend
you." Tradition! Capitalism. Tradition!
Free markets.
Tradition! A
Lexus in every garage. Yes. This could fit, after all, very well. In our quest for the golden fleece, we soon
forgot its nexus with the tradition of individualism which gave it birth as well
as the nexus of this same individualism with the faith which inspired it. Anne Hutchinson could faintly be heard to
sing;
"May He always shield you from shame.
May you come to be
In
May you be like Ruth and like Esther.
May you be deserving of praise.
Strengthen them, Oh Lord,
And keep them from the strangers' ways."
The
stranger's ways were collectivist refutations of the inner light which
threatened a dangerous outbreak of individualism, itself a form of anti-traditionalism. We, in essence, have a tradition of
anti-traditionalism. It is this
tradition which has given rise to our form of free market capitalism as well as
much in our legal tradition, to include due process and the presumption of
innocence – principles which some now call unintelligible when voiced by our
antagonists.
But globalization has brought out another
nexus which looms larger than the shame of breaking with tradition; the nexus
of those affiliated with an alternative tradition. In our zeal to combat this
threat, individualism is shunned, loyalty to the cause the sine qua non of
patriotism, and those who sound the warning present day Chicken Littles and Quislings in our multi-generational call to a
militaristic collective effort. "More
than anything, we need unity" is the battle cry, even if such unity means
sacrificing our intelligence and independence of thought. The basis of this affiliation is growing from
shared activities to shared ideologies, affiliations of both genres now calling
for responses outside of the legal tradition, to include cross examination of
pretenders to wisdom.
All right, their playing dirty pool. But they're bad men. True? True!
I promise you'll be happy. And even if you're not, there's more to life
than that. Don't ask me what! May the
Lord protect and defend us.