We don't actually have to go it alone. In fact, life might be better if we didn't.
 | By Vanessa Mobley Op-Ed Editor |
Dependence is a tricky thing in American society. Children are celebrated for steps toward independence, couples are chided for shades of codependence and, of course, with great pride the former president declared, "I alone can fix it." |
In a guest essay this week, Alissa Quart examines why Americans simultaneously revere independence even while we suffer from anxiety and loneliness. By calling for the cultivation of "the art of dependence," she argues that needing other people and caring for them is an overlooked strength we all possess. |
Yet, Quart points out, "when we do get assistance, we may feel we must play down the help we receive from our government, our families or our neighbors." |
Quart is a reporter, poet, social critic, author and executive director of the Economic Hardship Project, which supports independent journalism. She also describes herself as a mother and friend. With all of those roles, the very basic need for human interdependence asserts itself. What can we do? In her essay Quart explains how we can harmonize even seemingly irreconcilable obligations, like being a mother and a worker. |
Even if you consider yourself self-made, self-sufficient and self-sustaining, she reminds readers that the independence they prize could one day abandon them. Maybe when our solo ways of life break down, we'll find better ways to live. |
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