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The Problem Is, You Think You’re Special
Navigating a Me Versus We World
My daughter’s favorite show is a Japanese anime series about an unassuming middle school boy with incredible psychic powers. This character, nicknamed Mob, has been raised to believe that even though his spoon-bending gifts are unique, they aren’t special. Being athletic, getting good grades, and being popular is more highly valued. Like most middle-schoolers, Mob wants to fit in.
Mob could be the world’s most potent psychic, but his goal is to lead a regular life. He doesn’t want to stand out. The idea is even stated in the opening song’s lyrics: “If everyone is not special, maybe you can be what you want to be.”
In Japan, like most Asian cultures, an individual’s identity is more defined by the “we” than the “I.” In Collectivist societies, it’s essential to take care of the group, so it makes sense that the cartoon character Mob hates attracting attention.
The concept of Collectivism was foreign to me until college, when I happened upon a Native American sweat lodge community called Descendants of the Earth.
A sweat lodge is a low-to-the-ground dome-shaped, circular structure, and I attended one with friends as an assignment for an Arts and Rituals class. Everyone sits in a circle. It’s dark inside, and the heat can be…
