Pietism & American guilt

"We feel perpetually guilty because we do not live up to our own ideals and because our country does not live up to our own ideals... It is from this self-doubting and guilt-ridden middle class that the more radical pietists of the right and left draw their strength for national reformations."

 For all our faults, I believe that the American people really do care about living up to high standards of freedom and democracy.  McLoughlin illustrates this by briefly going through American history and the emergence of individualism as a driving force of social change.  After reading his article, I now perceive reformation movements as a pendulum, going back and forth between movements doing too much, and not enough.

I think that intelligent Americans can see both sides of the issue, but may not speak out.  Individualism requires a lot of effort and as a result, there is an incessant search for an easier way than exhaustive, engaged thought about an issue.  The only true way to live up to American freedom is for individualism, people acting on their beliefs after much thought, to shape our democracy.  Mcloughlin sums it up nicely as this,  "No man, no group and no idealogy has the blueprint for our society." 

As a bit of food for thought I would like to explore the question, "Which is worse? When well meaning people overstep, or general passivity and no movement towards needed social reform?".