America cherishes individualism. It prides itself in its laws regarding protection of private property and has taken freedom of expression to the extreme. So why is America falling apart? Because building walls to protect one’s privacy isolates you from everyone else, and when the motto is each one for him or herself, there is no society and the country crumbles.
My teacher’s father, the great kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag, a.k.a., Baal HaSulam, wrote, “Let mine be mine and let yours be yours … is sodomite rule.” He explains that the people of Sodom were not mean to one another; they were cold and indifferent, totally alienated from each other. This, says Baal HaSulam, caused their downfall. Later in the article, Baal HaSulam writes, “Let mine be mine and let yours be yours … is Sodomite Rule, the opposite of love of others.” In other words, the problem with the people of Sodom was that they had no love for one another, or as Baal HaSulam wrote in another article, “Let mine be mine and let yours be yours … is, in fact, the attribute of egoists.” You cannot cultivate egoism and expect society to last.
What America has done with its society was in fact a construction of a modern day Sodom, which is now tearing at the seams. It is evident to anyone with eyes in his head that on the current trajectory, America has no future. Moreover, I would say that unless the whole country reverses course beginning January 20th, America will lose all that it achieved, and within a few years, it will be in ruins.
As long as America stands, it stands a chance, but it must begin the educational process now. The liberation of the individual was good for its time. Now that individualism is deeply rooted in the people, connection and commitment to society must take the lead.
Human nature develops us as individuals, but it does not develop us as a society. This, we must do of our own volition and through our own initiative. It is similar to raising a child until he or she can function independently, but then you have to teach them how to function as individuals within a society.
This is where America stands now. It has stood in this place far too long, and did not realize it had to rise to the next level: turning individuals into a society. Now, it is living out its last days of glory. If it does not embrace the change and becomes a society of connected individuals, it will collapse in flames just as the once great city of Sodom.
[Image by Daderot – Own work, Public Domain]