We are living in an age of disillusion.  Some of the fundamental ideals we were taught to accept and revere in our younger days, turn out to be unhelpful - even hurtful - when we task them with guiding us through the complexities of this new age.  It is tempting to throw out everything we were told - lock, stock and barrel - and turn to our own wits and self-reliance to get us through.  But sometimes throwing the baby out with the bathwater is a recipe for cynicism.  And we are forced to ask ourselves whether it might be better to rebuild what we have left behind.