Perhaps the best way is to formulate something which everyone agrees — peace in an anomie society, the handbook. Introducing the diversity and multiculturalism within grasp of human knowledge.
Live and let live is beautiful, but it cannot be the substantial connection there is between citizens of a society. What is to say comparing the life of insects to man is any different than within an anomie society? The similarity is to create understanding based off differences. We must find more similarities that are acceptable from the past and integrate it into the present. If you don’t burn bridges, why would you bury your past? Revolution will never succeed because each side has valid point. It’s all about integration.

This underlying feeling i think is something so rarely openly expressed by both men and women alike. I’ve read a lot of Durkheim, and i have to say his thoughts were some of the more interesting ones that i discovered when i decided to become a philosophy then sociology major in college. These quotes hit on some of the everlasting questions of human existence that i think will perhaps always go unanswered, no matter how hard we try to figure them out. I completely agree both that in studies and just my own personal observation that those with a more difficult life (albeit their hardships) are not as philosophically tortured, because to them, their needs are very basic ” seeing a child they haven’t seen in 20 years” “having enough money to get an education” or “affording day care”. When you have more responsibilities, and more hardship, you have less freedom. Obviously this isn’t a good thing, but it certainly prevents you from having the time or luxury to ponder what your meaning in life is. I whole heartedly believe that without some guidelines and external boundaries (whether they come in the form of hardships or perhaps just societal restraints (that may or may not have been fair) we are perhaps perplexed with what to do with all of this freedom. How do we know we are choosing the right path when we are free to choose any number of paths that could be the right one? With this comes feelings of guilt and a different kind of personal responsibility now in this generation: “well if I’m free to choose any path, and I choose the wrong one, I know it’s MY fault, and not SOCIETYS fault because there is nothing limiting me from reaching my goals anymore.” Knowing that our decisions are now completely up to us rather than the default of whatever we are allowed to do throws away any excuses we have for personal failure. In other words, being completely Free= being completely responsible for our mistakes. I do think this puts a kind of pressure on individuals that wasn’t there before. Sometimes it may be so much pressure, that individuals just “freeze” or give up in the decision making process in their own lives, subconsciously choosing no path versus one that may lead to failure and thus their own guilt. There is no generation so obviously a victim of “Freezing” than this one. People have delayed getting married, delayed kids, delayed finding real careers or even pursing what they love (even if it is none of the above) because they are afraid to commit to anything since there are too many options laid before them. There are other explanations for these things being “delayed” but perhaps this concept is one of the factors. Freedom is a necessary and fiercely fought for concept that we cherish every day we have it, but like everything, good things come in moderation, and even freedom I’m afraid in excess, can have significant consequences when it comes to the inner workings of the human mind and soul. Anomie is one of the greatest concepts to be considered when dissecting why it is we feel these notions in modern times and how we can identify the source of these particular issues.

For the past two years I have been making a plan to get involved in science education. This stems from childhood fascination with building things from Lego castles to working hydro-electric dams in the roadside gully (until the street cleaner came and demolished it). Those were the days, it was easy to find someone to join you. Now I find it extremely difficult to find others even willing to entertain these ideas let alone interested in coming-along for the journey. My peers are more interested in mortgages, partying, women, to be bothered working on something challenging. Some people try to reason with me to invest in a relationship, but what woman wants an aimless man? Do I want a woman who settles for an aimless man?

I have never felt more alone in this quest to find a community of like-minded individuals willing to entertain my (backwards?) ideas of sharing and increasing knowledge. Most importantly, it doesn’t feel “right” to do this alone. Perhaps I really do need to pray about this as No BS commented.

Catholic Intellectual – your religion and the crimes its adherents and followers have perpetrated are the last thing on earth I would turn to for guidance.

All ethics and moral codes were created my man, God is just an externalised personification of them invented to make them sacrosanct and unchallengeable!

During a lifetime of struggle with anomie I have come up with a few strategies and techniques for getting through periods when I am not caught up in some external cause which at least seems to give life some meaning:
1. Physical discipline seems always to be helpful–better diet, more exercise, both aerobic and strength training. Part of the reason may be that for most of us other people depend on our health and longevity–it is not merely selfish to get into better shape. I have not been a substance abuser but I am a social drinker on and off and I seem to do better with the anomic feelings of emptiness when I don’t drink at all. Alcohol is a depressant after all and it probably makes sense to stop taking depressants before starting anti-depressants IMHO.
2. I envy those with actual faith but my rational mind finds supernatural beliefs to be entirely unconvincing. I have discovered though that the part of our mind that needs religious faith doesn’t really care if the rational part also believes. As a practical matter acting as if there is “someone out there” who cares about what we do seems to be very helpful in fighting anomie. I have run into this idea in at least three places: the early pshychologist/philosopher William James, the Higher Power concept of the 12-Step Movement, and, more recently, a current popular guru by the name of Julia Cameron. Whether or not I really believe it, it is incredibly powerful to act and think, even pray, as if I do. Not for everyone, I know, but it works for me. I think by the way that a lot of “people of faith” don’t really believe at the rational level but they know it works for them. It may be that this creates a lot of internal conflict for the individual “believer” and also a sense of hypocrisy for the observer. Viewed in this light maybe some of these difficulties are unnecessary .
3. Journalling. Julia Cameron’s book, T”he Artist’s Way”, I think it’s called, reminded me that daily journalling is a powerful technique for getting in touch with one’s own deeper (in the sense of less accessible) thoughts, needs and desires. I try to do it first thing every morning (I look forward to it, so it helps me get up early when I am sleeping too much and reconciles me to getting up earlier than usual when I am sleeping too little). On a difficult anomie day such as today has been (which led me to this blog) I journal several times during the day. It doesn’t feel like vegging out as watching TV and certain kinds of reading often can. By getting me in touch with my less obvious, but, I suspect, more fundamental needs and wishes it moves me away from anomie. Frankly, and again this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, I prefer my goals and norms to come from within (even though many would say that this is actually a way of communing with God.)
4. Living in the moment. This is a bit of a challenge at a time when one is thinking hard about what to do next, but it is all the more important at such a time. Other comments have covered this topic well, but to me it basically involves paying attention to the details of the world around you from moment to moment, and especially paying close attention to the other people one comes into contact with and accepting some responsibility for bringing something pleasant into others’ lives. Even if all you have for others is friendly eye-contact an d acknowledgment, for some that can be quite a lot. It can backfire of course–some people unfortunately see almost any attention as threat–but with practice you get better at it.

Through the journalling medium (and in connection with kind of a modified carving-away process as another commenter described very well) I have concluded that traveling is my thing and what I have to commit my energies to. I’ve had enough of boats for a while and I’m pretty broke anyway, so I am beginning to explore the world of bicycle touring. As I prepare to become some kind of bicycle nomad (and I discover that there are lots of them out there) I am looking for a unifying structure or system of goals for my traveling—something that will connect it to something larger than “just me.” If anyone has suggestions along these lines–not fundraising rides–I’d welcome them.

I can’t resist a comment about the idea that serving in the military is a wonderful cure for anomie, which may apply equally to a lot of organized causes. There is no doubt that–in the moment–the cameraderie of battle is the ultimate antidote to anomie. But the battle survivors of every war, most poignantly Vietnam, have included many who concluded during or after their experience that the cause for which they were fighting was pointless at best and very possibly intentionally fraudulent, even evil. No one has ever made this point more effectively than Tolstoy in his “Letter to a Young Conscript” which probably will never be required reading at the local recruiting office. I certainly recommend it to any young person who finds the glory, honor and sacrifice stuff that JC is putting out to be seductive. He makes the case well, but entirely leaves out the ethical dimension, which in my opinion, deserves careful consideration. Quasi-military roles (law enforcement, rescue, etc.) may give similar satisfaction with fewer ethical problems.

The bottom line is that no matter how smart we are as a species, we are really just that – the smartest animals who have learned to manipulate nature towards our benefit and our ultimate destruction. There really is no purpose for us on an individual level other than survival. But with everything our present society throws at us, we are tricked into thinking there is. Those who come to that realization and TRULY accept and thrive in it are the ones that seem to live the most satisfied lives. Everyone else is simply motivated by false promise to keep going.