If the word does not yet exist, it should. Mononomism would refer to the prevailing practice in our society whereby no one uses his last name. Everyone identifies himself or is identified by others only by his first name. Each of us ‘goes by’ only one name. We’ve become a mononomistic culture.
Fifty years ago, in more formal times, this practice was unusual. Bank tellers were the exception. Mostly women, they used only their first names for security purposes. Today, however, the first-name-only convention is widely in vogue. Perhaps this is because of the putative appeal of informality. Or, more disturbingly, perhaps it is the desire for the general anonymity concealing one’s last name provides.
This reflection is prompted by my recent visit to a local branch of a national bank. The ‘customer representative’ who attended to me introduced himself only by his first name, ‘George’. He was a young man with a promising mien. After repeated references to his computer screen, George resolved the issue which had brought me to him. Amicably, he displayed at least a feigned curiosity in my own past banking career. Noting his interest, I presumptuously offered some unsolicited advice. “George”, I suggested, “you should always give your last name when you identify yourself. It is your last name that distinguishes you. Using it implies that you are part of and proud of something bigger than yourself, and it would inspire greater confidence in your customers”.
George thanked me for the advice and then reciprocated with a valuable insight of his own. We had discussed the burgeoning role technology plays in the financial services industry and even laughed at the probability that George’s own position would someday be replaced by a robot. When I mentioned that the much bandied-about term ‘self-service’ is really an oxymoron (because there is no service when the provider and recipient are the same person) George, with striking clarity, replied that a more honest phrase would be ‘self-maintenance’.
What a provocative revelation! Self-service is self-maintenance, and isn’t self-maintenance a precursor to individual autonomy?
Anonymity and autonomy: what do these two have in common? Both imply a disregard for relationships, and relationships are the sinews of a vital and vibrant society.
One of the bedrock teachings of Catholic social teaching is the principle of solidarity. Solidarity is ‘the inescapable network of mutuality’ wherein all of us recognize our dependence on and responsibility for each other. As such, solidarity is more than a matter of personal morality. It is a universal imperative to which our response will determine how we as the human race will progress.
Where solidarity flourishes relationships are strong. Its practitioners honor the identity all of us share as individuals created in the image of God. With solidarity there are no solipsists. Everyone relates and finds nourishment in relationship. After all, solidarity is a reflection of the unitrinoque Domino, the irreducible relationship of the three Persons in the Blessed Trinity.
Philanthropists – those inspired by reverence for God – understand that the advance of the Kingdom is energized by the practice of solidarity.
The advance of the Kingdom is energized by solidarity.
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