American Idol

Not the show.
My MC has been talking about idols.
An idol. Something we worship. Other than God.
My sweet friend Jessica said independence was a big American idol. As she fleshed out what she meant and why that was an idol, I was surprised that I didn't see it as an idol before.
Some examples:
Not respecting authority. ("Teachers are stupid", "cops are lame", etc...)
Living together and not being married. ("We don't need a piece of paper to tell us we love each other")
Getting divorced and thinking you can raise the kids alone better than as a family.
Not having kids because they are a burden to our freedom.
Making sure you have a career so when he leaves you/you leave him, you'll be okay.
There are many other examples....I'm a free thinker, I won't conform, individual is best. blah, blah, blah.

Isn't it amazing how much value as a society we place on being independence? Isn't it amazing how much disgust/pity we have as a society for the weak, submissive, the dependent? 
As we talked more, I started to see how independence is pushed and praised like success, materialism, beauty all are in our culture.

We have SO many American idols. Too bad we don't have a 3 person judging panel pointing out to us every time we worship one!