Mariner visited his primary care physician yesterday. He is an excellent doctor and has become a friend. The first thing he wanted to do in his office was show mariner photographs he had taken at the annual West Point Military Academy reunion where graduates return every year for a large get together that includes a hike of many miles. The photographs suggested there were thousands at the reunion. The doctor’s pictures reflected that he had a great time and really enjoyed meeting again with fellow compatriots, officers he had served under, and the professors at the academy. It was obvious that the experience reaffirmed his sense of self, of his image as equal among many.

The doctor’s enthusiasm led mariner to remember the good times he had when, as a teenager, he was a lifeguard at a church camp. The camp had five-day programs for various ages where students stayed in camp cabins for the whole program. On Monday, most students didn’t know one another; there were obvious cliques from the same church but the whole group did not reflect unanimity or familiarity. By Friday, the students had become animated, gregarious and liked nothing more than the camp-wide marshmallow roasts, free time mingling on the beach and having a camp-wide lunch on the lawn on Friday. Clearly, the campers experienced the same affirmation as the doctor did.

Mariner also was reminded of Ted Danson’s show ‘Cheers’. The theme for the show tells it all:
Making your way in the world today
Takes everything you’ve got;
Taking a break from all your worries
Sure would help a lot.
Wouldn’t you like to get away?

All those nights when you’ve got no lights,
The check is in the mail;
And your little angel
Hung the cat up by its tail;
And your third fiance didn’t show;

Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they’re always glad you came;
You want to be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same;
You want to be where everybody knows your name.

Roll out of bed, Mr. Coffee’s dead;
The morning’s looking bright;
And your shrink ran off to Europe,
And didn’t even write;
And your husband wants to be a girl;

Be glad there’s one place in the world
Where everybody knows your name,
And they’re always glad you came;
You want to go where people know,
People are all the same;
You want to go where everybody knows your name.

There is a special affirmation that can only be experienced in a common, unified group. After all, we are a tribal species!

What creates the opportunity for reaffirmation is twofold: everyone is subject to a common discipline; the Academy and the camp staff set the rules. The lesson is this: Democracy is a bottom up philosophy. The common experience is each individual at a voting station. Democracy fails to provide reaffirmation when it is no longer a common experience and unity is no longer available. Today, democracy is weakened by top down, fragmenting actions caused by a government run by money and TV advertising instead of citizens gathering to discuss issues in a place ‘where everybody knows your name’. Weakened democracy is also caused by authoritarianism and excessive capitalism – practices where nobody cares what your name is. Forget the television and talk to neighbors and citizen groups, in a place where everybody knows your name.

Ancient Mariner