Q&A: The Values of Society and the Values of the Individual
The Values of Society and the Values of the Individual.
Question
Hello to his honored eminence, may he live long.
I noticed an interesting phenomenon between conservative communities and liberal communities. Conservative communities generally appear harsh and even bad from the standpoint of the community: they have rigid rules, lack of consideration for the individual, slogan-driven fanaticism, lack of organization and education, bad treatment of outsiders, women, etc., and rejection of anything outside their circle. And yet, as private individuals, they are much more courteous, nicer, less violent, more charitable, and calmer. By contrast, liberal communities, from the social standpoint, are open, tolerant, highly considerate of the individual, orderly, educated, etc.; however, as private individuals, they are often arrogant, selfish, and so on.
Usually people notice this in struggles over the character of Haredi education. The liberals claim that they educate toward all the bad traits I mentioned above, whereas the Haredim claim that they produce better people. And conversely, specifically secular-liberal education is the one with a problem, because it produces worse people—not everyone, Heaven forbid, but many more than among the Haredim.
What do you say?
Answer
I haven’t noticed this phenomenon. In general, I would say that one should pay attention to the question of toward whom the kindness is directed—whether inward or outward.