thoughtfulThe question for the educated class is, can you have your cake and eat it too? Can you have freedom as well as roots? Because the members of the educated class show little evidence of renouncing freedom and personal choice. They are not returning to the world of deference and obedience. They are not about to roll back the cultural and political revolutions of the past decades, which have done so much to enhance individual freedom. They are going to try to find new reconciliations. The challenges they face are these: Can you still worship God even if you take it upon yourself to decide that many of the Bible's teachings are wrong? Can you still feel at home in your community even if you know that you'll probably move if a better job opportunity comes along? Can you establish ritual and order in your life if you are driven by an inner imperative to experiment constantly with new things? I've talked about the mighty reconciliations the Bobos make. But these spiritual reconciliations are the most problematic. The Bobos are trying to build a house of obligation on a foundation of choice.
—David Brooks, Bobos in Paradise [emphasis mine]
