09.09.08
Zogby’s New Book: “The Way We’ll Be”
My Amazon order arrived this afternoon and I settled right in and spent the evening reading “The Way We’ll Be” by pollster John Zogby. I always like reading works that lend a bird’s eye perspective about our culture that you cannot get through the piecemeal details in the news.
In short, Zogby’s view is a very hopeful one. I only hope he is right. He claims the American public in general is turning away from the materialistic consumer mentality toward deeper, more authentic values. You would never know this from the external appearance of society and the advertizing world.
The Secular Spiritualists, to quote Zogby, is a “broadly based group coalescing around a nexus of values that sometimes mimics religion…but in fact has only a single doctrine: that the old American materialism has far too many empty calories.” “These people look inside [themselves] for motivation” and do not rely on a group to define their values for them. “Success to them isn’t climbing the corporate ladder; it’s finding peace within.”
The Secular Spiritualists, which make up approximately one third of our population, are more inclined to value moral behavior than to align themselves with supposedly moral teachings, typical of the so-called Moral Majority. They choose are role models those who can lead them to greater spiritual fulfillment as opposed to looking at, for examples, billionaires whose example could lead them to more wealth. Instead of choosing sumptuous beach-type vacations like Club Med, those in this group will be more likely to participate in Elderhostels, lifelong learning, adventure travel and other activities that enrich their minds and souls. Also, typical of this group is a “fresh spirit of generosity…a generosity in giving, a generosity of spirit toward others and toward the world at large.”
Now Zogby seems to be saying that this mindset has greater penetration in the 18-41 age group than it does among older Americans, which is curious because this group sounds more mature, spiritually and otherwise, than what he calls the “traditional materialists.” But it is good news because as time goes on, this is the group that will be running the world, or I should say, at least our country (Zogby’s generalizations only apply to America.)
After reading this book, I feel more hopeful than I have in a long time that things are moving in a good direction in our society. Read the book. It’s perspective is illuminating.