It is a matter of trust. I trust least those who consider themselves self-made rugged individuals. The reason is simple. In reality no such animal exists. It takes a myopic self-centeredness to think even for a moment that you or your accomplishments are self-made. Let us take the hardest case – that of an individual who is countercultural. In what sense does the countercultural person depend upon the culture he finds repugnant? There are inevitably a thousand practical ways he is dependent, but let us look at the heart of rebellious identity. The contrarian comes to know himself by knowing who he is not. In other words, the culture provides the essential contrast to define and make evident the countercultural. We have seen this in politics in recent years as the political right in its anti-Obama obsession comes to owe its very soul to Obama and is defined in no other way.
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