Modern Problems: A Counselor’s View of Cultural Chaos 

Our problems today have new (often digital) costumes, but fundamentally they are not new problems. Humans have suffered and sinned under pressure from cultural chaos since the Garden of Eden. However, the combination of screens, domineering media voices, echo chambers and, above all, the dominant cultural narrative of unbridled individualism has led to a pandemic of unmoored souls. This opening session will examine the particular ways this cultural moment strains and tempts us, with a special focus on the need to redeem toxic independence and its toxic impact on community and technology.