Group Consciousness

            Noticing young people today is very much easy than what it was in the past. Today the young are naturally identified by their need to belong to a specific group. They need others not only to “practice virtue” as their ticket to the next life, but they need others, so that, as individuals, they can grow and become genuine people- able to live together with others. Everyone needs security, recognition, a sense of belonging to make it at all, but these things do not just sprinkle down from “up there” somewhere. Islands are not bridged like that- it takes people.

         There is a greater awareness among the young that they are part of a larger context. That not only a particular notion of reality brings meaning henceforth but the ultimate reality or culture of a person is meaningful. Therefore, there is even more awareness of the need to belong to a group and to a culture. Yet today’s youth are not uniform or stereotyped as in the past: but one notices that within the youth culture there is a certain amount of diversity and polarization. The kinds of associations, bonds, and relationships that exist are not always deep. When an individual’s freedom is curtailed then the person is no freer to make any personal choices and totally depends of those who call the cards for their life.