Introduction
Reading Keith O’Brien’s article ‘Single Minded’ article on singles brings up a connection with George Orwell’s classic 1984. There are two similarities between the two works. The first is that both are in a way predictions about the future of mankind. ‘Single Minded’ is about people wanting to live alone and ‘1984’ about the state of society being policed by a dictatorial worldwide government. The next similarity is the presence of new words or phrases that are present in both works. There is a difference here because while O’Brien borrowed them, Orwell created them. Words like newspeak, big brother, thought police and doublethink have even become part of the English language as apt allusion of an oppressed society. If the state of affairs as described by O’Brien is true and will become more prevalent, phrases like Quirkyalone, Modern Spinsters, Marriagefree, and Spinsterellas and Couplists will also be accepted into modern language usage to refer to the state of being alone. Orwell speaks of oppression while O’Brien speaks of freedom.
Main body
O’Brien’s work also brings to mind another controversial classic, namely Ayn Rand’s ‘Virtue of Selfishness’. The similarity between the two is even more striking. Both talk about the virtues of two mindsets that is an anathema in today’s increasingly hypocritical society. Society demands us to be kind and caring and not be selfish in our behavior. It also expects us to treat marriage as a sacred institution where everyone should find a partner and officially accept him or her as a mate for life.
Animals find mates for procreation alone and do not find the need for a mate as a companion. Several questions pop up after reading ‘Single Minded’. The first one is whether today’s society is moving back towards the time of the Stone Age where man (and woman) mated just for the process of continuity. It could also be that this is a form of rebellion the rules and laws that have evolved over the years. There are also signs that this state of being single was due to circumstances and not choice. People first want to find a way to make a living and then think about marriage. In the process, they loose focus and concentrate on building a successful career. Once they do, they find that it is too late to change. Diane Darling is an ideal example of a single woman who always dreamed of marriage and even bought baby clothes on her business trips aboard. At 40, she still remains unmarried.
Remaining single also stem from the fact that some people are choosy and are still waiting for the man or woman who scores a perfect 10. Such people seem to forget that even Bo Derek will get old. The next question is whether this trend is happening is due to the increasing freedom that is there to remain single. Remaining single and at the same time having a relationship (and even children) is no longer a shocking thing.
O’Brien also hints that people often regret their decisions for not finding a life mate. Most often they begin to feel lonely especially when they begin to age and the need to companionship rather than physical relationship becomes stronger. The need for companionship is there among all forms of intelligent life. Among animals, the elephant herd is an ideal example. The fact that single people meet to talk about their singleness as given in the section that begins with ‘IN A ROOM THIS Spring’ (in the article) is evidence of this fact. One thing that is confusing in the article is why the topic of advertising alone was brought up. There are so many other factors that can be discussed in this context. Maybe O’Brien is as advertising man or this field is increasingly becoming a big brother in peoples’ lives. Anyway, that section will be most helpful to advertising companies who are desperately trying to find new markets for their clients.
Whatever questions that comes to mind from reading the article is not answered by the author. In a sense it is admirable that he is not being judgmental about these attitudes. O’Brien does not test the sensibility of the reader, but leaves the topic open for the readers to decide or judge for themselves about whether being single is a virtue or not. He does give some hints like increasing feminism, high divorce rates etc as a possible reason for this increasing trend all across the United States. Homosexuality is also mentioned here as a factor according to the author that forces men and women to remain single.
Conclusion
Another fact in the article is that the chosen city of study is Boston. It would be interesting to see why Boston is the place where half of the male population and 45% of the female population have chosen or been forced to remain single. The Forbes study mentioned in the article says that Boston is one of the top ten ‘most educated’ cities in the country. This fact can open up a new avenue of study whether there is any positive correlation between levels of education and remaining single.
On the whole the article is interesting and relevant. The trend of remaining single is growing in many parts of the world. There is no right or wrong in being single or taking a life mate. The freedom is there for man or women to choose. It is also up to them to face the consequences of either course of action. Let each individual decide about the virtue of being single or the virtue of being married. Society cannot force a decision on either of the two.