Yesterday I heard a talk on independence and interdependence. The speaker noted that the two concepts are actually connected and interdependent ideas themselves. This intrigued me, spurring me to delve into these ideas and their place in our culture. The last blog I wrote was about the importance of collaboration in both the human and the natural world even though competition is emphasized by our culture. In this blog I will continue to explore that same thread by looking at the intersections between independence and interdependence.
Beginning with definitions, here are two of ‘Independence.’ The definition given at https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/independence reads, “freedom from being governed or ruled by another,the ability to live your life without being helped or influenced by other people.” Here is another from https://www.dictionary.com/browse/independence that reads “freedom from the control, influence, support, aid, or the like, of others.” Good and positive stuff. No one wants or chooses to be controlled by another or ruled by any societal structure.
Here are two definitions of interdependence. From https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/interdependence the definition reads, “the fact of depending on each other: our interdependence as a global society, Earth science; interdependence is also the idea that everything in nature is connected to and depends on every other thing.” And at https://www.dictionary.com/browse/interdependence “the quality or condition of being interdependent, or mutually reliant on each other: Globalization of economies leads to an ever-increasing interdependence of countries.”
The best way for me to grasp how these ideas are themselves interconnected is to think of the path of human development. When born, human infants are almost completely helpless, requiring months and years of parental care and support. An infant is truly dependent on caregivers for its survival. As children mature and grow through stages of childhood, adolescence and eventual adulthood, they become more and more independent of parents and other caregivers. And yet, to become educated, to become a member of society, to find a place in a community, all of us require help, assistance, and support from others.
And the interconnection? I believe that to be able to be interdependent and to recognize its value and necessity, one needs to first have achieved personal independence. Only after someone can ‘stand on their own two feet,’ and know and respect themselves can they be in the position of seeing others in the same light. And as we know that we need connection and support along the way, we also know that others do, too.
Just an example, family members recently moved to a new community. It was necessary to reach out to neighbors to learn about local services, to go to the local post office and town offices for more information and services. These are just superficial examples of ways to establish a place in a new community. As the bonds form within the community, if anyone needs assistance, help with a ride to the store for example, the network and personal connections are established.
In conclusion, about a year and a half ago I wrote about my grandmother’s quest to name the first of January an international holiday, “Interdependence Day” to acknowledge the interdependence of all peoples and nations with each other. To date, that effort has not born fruit. However, I do see more written about interdependence, especially now, when we in the United States just celebrated our ‘independence’ from Great Britain. I have a glimmer of hope that we are growing up, just a little bit?