Becoming Human in the Modern Age [JT #16]

In traditional societies, people move through three fundamental stages, from birth to adulthood. First, you become the property of your parents' household. Then, your individuation begins, which is the second stage. You become the individual you were born to be. You are no longer a child but not yet an adult. The third stage is your initiation into the tribe of your elders. Then, you cease to be your mother's object and you become the property of your people and a warrior for your gods. But the modern world frustrates this final stage. Modernity keeps people trapped as isolated individuals in a state of eternal teendom, uprooted from their nations, and severed from their ancestors. If we want to become human again, as a people, we must revolt against the modern world, and free ourselves from the constraints imposed on us by a global, rule-based order.