Smokingboot

I remember days and weeks with the family in Spain. It was totally communal to the extent where sitting alone to read a book was considered stand-offish. I found it oppressive in the extreme at times. Conversely, my Spanish grandma found British life terribly gloomy and isolated. The group can be a terrible tyrant if you don't or can't fit in.

My feeling is that if society is made up of individuals and should protect their need both to be individual and also to belong, though this latter seems almost impossible to provide. Recalling my work with Lambeth Borough Education, I don't consider it an evil brought about by specifically US culture; we had an 'armistice' day regarding blades in schools - primary schools.