With a nod and apology to Robert Frost and his poem “The Road Not Taken”:
Two roads diverged on my fallow screen,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent me to the middle …
In the words of Inigo Montoya from The Princes Bride: “Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.” I recently saw a clash between a social media meme versus a popular bingeworthy streaming show.
First, one of my friends on social media shared a meme clearly intended to disparage a remark Zohran Mamdani made during his inauguration as mayor of New York City. The first Muslim mayor of the Big Apple said, “We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.”
Brad Bull
If you want the brains of the far right to melt like the face of the Nazi in Raiders of the Lost Arc, announce your intent to replace John Wayne with the Dali Lama. In response to Mamdani’s pledge, the meme my friend posted was apparently created by a woman who identifies herself on X as “Domestic Patriot. Christian nationalist. Lawyer. Wife & Mom. My kids call me ‘Tyranny Sue.’” (Let’s put a parenthesis around the fact that my Trump-supporting friends have, for years, said that “Christian nationalism is not a thing to worry about,” but it continues to grow in open endorsement.) The meme features a satellite image of the Korean peninsula at night. The darkness of communist North Korea is labeled as “Warmth of Collectivism.” Conversely, the electrified and glowing democratic South Korea is identified as the product of the “Frigidity of Individualism.”
The sarcastic point of the meme is clear: Rugged individualism leads to prosperity while collectivism leads to deprivation. This assertion strikes me as both odd and flawed.
It’s odd because, in contrast to individualistic cultures like the United States that place a higher value on personal freedom and accomplishment, Asian cultures tend to be collectivist — like bee colonies focusing on the well-being of the group. I did a search on this and found an interesting article by Genumbi Cho.
He maintains that Korea’s collectivist tradition has been influenced by Western individualism and this has resulted, according to some scholars, in a hybrid social structure dubbed “relationism.” So, it’s odd and inaccurate for the meme to hold up South Korea as an example of the benefits of strictly rugged individualism when it is not an example of unvarnished individualism.
Furthermore, the logic of the meme is flawed because it generalizes collectivism to be the source of the privations of North Korea. This ignores the more obvious factors such as the tyranny of its dictator, who is propped up by self-serving sycophants. Thus, it’s arguable that the economic despair of North Korea actually is rooted in the hyper-individualism of its dictator and those upper-echelon military commanders who curry special privileges.
In George Orwell’s Animal Farm — his commentary on the pitfall of communism — the statement of the pigs captures the sycophants of North Korea: “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.” Thus, tooting rightwing dog whistles without careful analysis of the bigger picture, the meme’s logic caves in on itself. The privations of South Korea find far deeper roots in self-centeredness than in true collectivism.
“The privations of South Korea find far deeper roots in self-centeredness than in true collectivism.”
It’s particularly concerning — and actually supports one of Mamdani’s points — that the meme was created by someone touting their status as a “Christian nationalist.” Just before his remark about individualism versus collectivism, Mamdani said, “For too long, those fluent in the good grammar of civility have deployed decorum to mask agendas of cruelty.”
Indeed, cruel and tragic irony floods from a Christian speaking derisively about collectivism. Regarding the earliest Christians, Acts 2:44-45 states: “All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.”
That’s collectivism, but it’s being condemned by someone deploying the decorum of professed Christianity. To be fair, though, I don’t live in the manner described in Acts 2, and commentaries abound suggesting this form of collectivism was situational and not a universal prescription. As commentator Albert Barnes pointed out, John 19:27 reports a disciple took Jesus’ mother “into his own home.” Thus, the proper application of Act 2:44-45 will continue to be debated. But the mere existence of legitimate contrasting points on this issue means Christians should be the last to be offering shallow condemnation of the mere suggestion of collectivism.
That said, the Left will do well to exercise caution issuing wholesale condemnation of rugged individualism.
Shortly after seeing that dog-whistle meme about Korea, another “road” popped up on my screen. I started watching the popular show Pluribus. You may recognize that title as the Latin word for “many” from the United States motto: E Pluribus Unum — out of many, one. Search Assist offers this overview of the show: “Carol Sturka is one of the few (people on earth) immune to an alien virus that transforms humanity into a peaceful hive mind.” The storyline is inspired by Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Star Trek: The Next Generation fans will see similarities with the Borg. So far, I’ve seen just two episodes, so I don’t know where it will land. But what I’ve seen so far is a morality tale warning of a world with too much emphasis on collectivism. We find ourselves cheering for the rugged individualist — flaws and all — while hoping both sides might find a happy medium.
Cho’s article on Korea fairly critiques the pitfalls of individualism without traits of collectivism and collectivism without traits of individualism. If I had been an adviser on Mamdani’s speech I would have suggested avoiding the binary divisiveness caused by the word “replace” when he said, “We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.” Would we replace the frigidity of individual seatbelts with the warmth of group hugs? No. Since we need the courage and liberty of the Lone Ranger and Wonder Woman, but we also need the power of the hive, I would take more hope and inspiration in hearing this: “We will infuse the courage of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.” If we can do that, then:
It will be told with a relieved sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads converged in our world, and we —
We took the very best of both,
And that made all the difference.
Brad Bull holds a master of divinity degree in pastoral counseling and a Ph.D in human ecology. He has served as a hospital chaplain, pastor, professor. He currently works as a therapist and freelance writer based in Nashville, Tenn.