R: Endorse the Benedict Option

When Saint Benedict of Nursia left the darkness of Rome to pray in solitude, he founded an order of monks. This order is credited today with preserving theChristian traditions and helping to rebuild a Christian society in Europe. The success attributed to Saint Benedict is what motivates many people's desire to follow in his footsteps today. Specifically, this desire is to develop a distinct community aimed at preserving a moral lifestyle that is being outpaced in the rapidly changing world.

However, in the pursuit to protect one's religion or lifestyle, is it valiant to start anew with like-minded individuals, or cowardly to condemn the society at large? When does one lose enough hope in the collective society to wish to sever his ties and to build his or her own? In a democratic society, is it better to fight to persuade your peers to embrace your values than to abandon them? Moreover, in abandoning society, does it only become more intolerable for those like-minded individuals left behind?