American culture seems to thrive on an individualistic, can-do spirit -- exemplified by our deeply held belief that when life gives us lemons, we should just buck up, pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, get on with it, and make a pitcher of lemonade. As team member Mary Austin points out in this installment of The Immediate Word, there's a reason that the self-help section is one of the biggest in any bookstore. Even though times are tough for many of us right now, we are used to relative affluence and feeling special.