Can't Get There From Here

"Who am I?" was a popular essay question set upon philosophy students. Those three words were a gateway to a myriad of entry points. How is one to define oneself? Is a person a part of a larger faction, the way that an ant is part of the whole ant colony or a bee in a beehive. How much individuality allowed? The sum of us is greater than the significance of any one of us.

American society, at least how I experience it, has become very selfish. Business schools teach students to ask "what is in it for me" before starting a venture. Medical students are told to "see" patients every 15 minutes to make the targeted salary as a physician. Businesses use electronic voices and artificial intelligent machines to interact with customers. When did the humanity stop?

Television has turned eating into a competitive sport and "back stabbing" behavior entertainment.  Even scientific-based dramas feature the gore of murder with computer enhancement and animation  Why is all of that necessary?

I spoke to a 15 year old young woman who was trying to recover her mother's trust after acting out extremely enough to get into legal trouble. She was telling those who inquired that she wanted to go to college to become a "forensic pathologist". Her aunt knows that I am trained in that field so she asked me to "mentor" the teen. When the teen and I sat to talk, she began saying  that she hated science, did poorly in math, but like to write poetry.

I asked why she was telling everyone that she wanted to be a "scientist"; she corrected me and said " I don't ; I want to be like the women on CSI". The teen had latched on the "glamor" of these actresses and missed the content of the show. I was disarmed. The teen appeared to really want to be an actress.

How do we get back to a solid foundation? How can we get there from here?