A) Look through the text and pick out the main ideas of the author. Present them in logical order using the information from the text.

Rites, Ritual and Responsibility: Dilemma in American Culture (an extract)

Living and participating in any group − a family, an organization within a com­munity, a community, or a society − requires that the individual learn a set of rules and engage in what is considered by other group members as “responsible behavior.” Moreover, responsible behavior in all cultures is not expected at birth but is revealed during a process called enculturation. For example, the responsibilities of a two-year-old are different from that of a six-year-old, and the responsibilities of a twelve-year-old differ from those of an eighteen- or twenty-one-year-old. In our culture we expect a baby at age two to be dependent, to have his or her needs looked after by parents and others. At eighteen, in theory, a person should be exhibiting the behavior of a mature adult, and by age twenty-five the adult, self-responsible status should be complete.

Conformity to rules leads to expectations on the part of others, allowing for cooperative behavior, a sense of security, and group survival. Humans are a small-group animal and adhering to rules (and negotiating new rules when necessary) is extremely important in terms of group survival over time. < … >

What becomes important, then, is to accentuate rules of relationship regardless of social role. In a culture that worships individualism and equality (although we may not always live up to the latter), all social roles have come under attack. The misdeeds of senators, representatives, and presidents, medical doctors, ministers, priests, and teachers, are aired in public. The message, loud and clear, is that your dominant social role is less important than your relationship with others. Therefore, our basic and necessary rite of passage in our time period is the learning and utilizing of communication skills that accentuate equality and allow information to be exchanged in a “low-risk” manner.

First, you are responsible for the information that you send and how you translate the messages from others. Quite simply, if you want to be respected with equality from others, then be respectful of those others. When you use sarcasms, order, warn, threaten, ignore, and make trivial the actions of others, you are being disrespectful. Such communication strategies, common on the situation comedies, alienate, and if you want to be included, avoid these techniques.

Likewise, you are also responsible for how you receive information. When people are disrespectful of you, what do they really mean? If I tell you to “Go to hell, ” it does not mean get on the next bus. Learning how to send and receive information in a respectful manner has been neglected in our schools, churches, and certainly in the mass media. By learning how to communicate, to avoid high-risk messages, you initiate your own rite of passage leading to responsible adulthood. You have to be willing to examine the way you communicate and the communication patterns of others.

Second, your emotions are your own; no one can give you a feeling. Yes, people can set up situations where there is a high probability that you will get angry, frustrated, happy, and so on, but if you want equality, if you want individual freedom, you have to take charge. You generate your feelings as you interpret the world around you. That is why not everyone likes chocolate ice cream, cool summer evenings, cats, dogs, the color green, or Arnold Schwarzenegger movies. It is your interpretation, your preference. No one can make you angry, happy, sad, or content, and realizing this puts you on the road to self-responsible adulthood.

Third, you need to listen to others. You need to be able to stay external, regardless of whether you are being insulted, flattered, or sold a new idea. It is only through listening and interpreting symbols that humankind has been able to socially and technologically move to our present condition.

Fourth, sending positives is absolutely necessary. We are apparently programmed to pick up negatives because there is survival value in this. We have to override this tendency and, in the process, send out positives. When you positively reward the behaviors or ideas of others, those behaviors and ideas are likely to continue.

Fifth, we also need to be able to shut off unwanted behavior in others without creating resentment and war. This will take some work as most of us have learned to order, warn, threaten, name-call, withdraw, and so on.

Sixth, it is important to have a process of negotiation, one that points toward negotiating needs, not the individual wants of the participants.

Becoming a responsible adult can no longer be left to society, your tribe, or your family. You have to do it, and you have to do it willingly. Our ancient ancestors told stories that would help to secure our identities. Logic, too, often does not penetrate our current beliefs about ourselves and who we are with respect to the group. When our parents, for example, attempt logically to tell us what is best, such messages are often ignored. Stories, because they are “just stories, ” secure our attention and can speak to ideas, concerns, and behaviors. Our ancestors realized early on that values are more likely to be internalized in story form because they are not personal, at least at the conscious level, and appeal to universal ideals or issues: cooperation, growing up and contributing to the group, and so on. Such story telling avoids defensive reactions.

Our current artists, however, rely on sensationalistic renditions of the individual, which usually negate sensitivity toward others and accentuate full participation in one's self at the exclusion of others. The news media accentuates this ignorance and insensitivity toward others. Our government officials present images of disrespect and immaturity; our schools are not concerned with communication tools for intimate social living.

Moreover, our ancient ancestors, including contemporary preliterate cultures, subjected males to extreme rites of passage that involved scarification and other types of body mutilation. The goal was to kill the child symbolically and bring the individual to adult status. In Western culture, we no longer purposely engage in extreme rites of passage. In fact, it is up to the individual to enact his or her own rites of passage, which often spontaneously evolve out of social circumstances. A car accident, or pulling someone from a house fire, being lost in the woods, an unwanted pregnancy, or a near-death experience from a drug overdose are all spontaneous and serve as rites of passage for moving the individual to another life stage.

Specific literary forms can likewise emotionally and symbolically serve as rites of passage without physical participation. A suggestion, and as emphasized by Joseph Campbell, read (and analyze) the Arthurian legends, especially those of Perceval, Lancelot, and Erec. All of the youthful urges, spontaneous adventures and quests, spiritual striving, growing up, living one's own path, and relationship ideals (honor, loyalty, and integrity) are right there. Relationship ideals, unfortunately, have been corrupted by an economic philosophy of personal gain at the expense of others. Look in a mirror and you see yourself as an image separate from those surrounding you. Now think of a wave in an ocean. Is that ocean really separate from that wave? No; it is not. So who are you? Are you the wave, the ocean, or both?

John A. Rush

Discuss the following points:

· Dwell on the term “responsible behaviour”. Be ready to prove your point of view.

· Do you agree that rules of relationship are more important than your dominant social role? Prove your point of view.

· What do you think of the six rules of relationship suggested by the author? Dwell on each of the rules; illustrate it by situations from real life.

· Pick out the rule which you find difficult to understand or to follow. State your reasons.

· Can you recollect any other rules of relationship or recommendations suggested by psychologist (a teacher a writer, etc.)? What rule would you like to add to the list of rules under discussion?

· Speak about a time as an adult when you had to conform to rules that you did not agree with or feel comfortable about.

· What stimulates the spread of immaturity today according to the author? Would you like to support or to oppose his ideas?

· Can you point out other events which can serve as rites of passage for moving the individual to another life stage in present day society?

· Recollect a story (a tale, a film etc.) of growing up and securing one's identity.

· Write your own story that traces your unique journey to adulthood.

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