Abiding belief is to be found in the community regarding human progress and a sense of greater purpose in life: This is the final and perhaps most profound betrayal of de Tocqueville’s observations of and hopes for America. He wrote about a spiritual life (not necessarily religious) that serves as a foundation for a strong, supportive community and a thriving democracy. We would suggest that this final habit is captured in a Greek word I introduced in the previous essays in this series. The word is Agape. It represents a form of love and commitment based on a mutual dedication to some higher being, principle, or purpose. Agape manifests the essence of intertwined Personal and Collective Worth. The bridge between these two forms of Worth consists of an enacted dedication of all parties to a “greater good.”
This habit of Agape is found in the sense of shared purpose that James Fallows has found in contemporary small American communities. A colleague of mine has spoken with considerable passion about the mobilization of his small California community in preparing for the potential rupture of a dam near their community. He noted that all members of his community were filling sandbags and constructing a temporary levee. They were no longer polarized Republicans and Democrats. They were engaged in a shared commitment to preserving their community. My colleague wondered if it takes a major crisis (such as the 9/11 collapse of the twin towers in New York City) to bring people together. Can there be a “true” Agape that is something more than a joint commitment to security? Is Collective Worth only acquired when shared survival is achieved?
How widespread do we find this habit of Agape in mid-21st-century societies? Is it only found in small American communities facing an impending threat? Was there a shared commitment in the New England Mill Towns to some greater good, such as the welfare of women working in the mills? Was there much concern about the principles and purposes inherent in a form of wage-slavery that dominated the labor and life of the women working in the New England mills? Did the high-minded, church-going leaders of industry in New England exhibit some “abiding belief” in the human progress that would come from humane treatment of those working in their factories?
If the Cabots spoke only to God, what did God tell the Cabots about Agape? Did God tell Lowell and the other mill owners about Agape? What was conveyed (if anything) about the welfare of the Mill Girls during Sunday church services? Did God speak to the mill owners about Agape in the privacy of their souls? And did the owners listen to either the sermons or their souls? What about today’s industrial and financial leaders, and America’s political leaders? Is the spirit of Agape ever lingering around their Head or Heart? Can the Habit of Agape serve as a guide to repairing the broken sense of Collective Worth prevalent in our mid-21st-century society? What would the sandbags look like that protect us from an impending flood of increasing polarization, collective despair, and societal disruption?
American West
We now shift our attention to the American West of the late 19th and early 20th Century. What was it like for the Harvey Girls, first hired to serve food in the newly founded National Parks of the United States and restaurants located at railroad stations being built in the West? Is the story different from what we find in the labor and life of the Mill Girls? The new railroads that crossed this country exemplified the American “go-getting” spirit. The National Parks, in turn, were exemplars of American democracy and the commitment to public ownership of precious natural resources. The question becomes: Do we find that the entrepreneurial spirit and the spirit of democracy and shared ownership spill over into the life and work of the Harvey Girls?
