The crisis of identity

“I've grown certain that the root of all fear is that we've been forced to deny who we are.”

Frances Moore Lappe

I agree with Lappe in so much as I believe that today we tend to over identify ourselves with what we have rather than who we actually are. The consequence of this is both a fear of losing our material wealth and a sense of increased isolation from others who have more or less than us. This in turn seems to lead to an insatiable desire to have more for fear of being overtaken. This is the marketer dream and the very thing they play upon, as they seek to convince us to want what ever it is they have to sell. This is entirely self perpetuating since you buy more to assuage your fear and then fear losing the status it has given you, so in turn need to buy more and so on and so on.

Are you simply the sum of what you have? Are the richest people in the world really the best human beings? Are fear and competition the ingredients for a happy life?

One’s sense of self is greatly influenced by societal norms which are in turn influenced by much of what has gone before in this blog. I believe that we, as individuals, must become aware of our own personal identity and to honestly reflect on what has informed it. We can change what we choose to identify with and thereby change ourselves. When we do this we will become more personally empowered to challenge those who seek to defend the systems and structures which they believe serve them preferentially today.