The momentum of the individual rights movement has placed such an emphasis on individual claims and needs that all the nation's institutions have become suspect. These include churches, the family, and schools--those structures that mediate between the individual and the impersonal megastructures of society. These institutions are part of the private sphere of an individual's life and are the places where "meaning, fulfillment, and personal identity are to be realized." The megastructures of society include the institutions of the economic marketplace as well as the institutions of government and are typically alienating. Recent court decisions have taken away many of the protections previously enjoyed by institutions such as church, schools, and family. As these institutions are under attack, there is a moral ambivalence in society caused by a loss of confidence in public and private institutions of all kinds. The nation's meaning-giving enterprise is threatened at a time when the nation needs a reaffirmation of the pursuit of personal values and purpose. (SM)