The Importance Of Individuals

We live in a world that seems to be pre-occupied with minority status. Weather we are talking about a racial, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or religious affiliations it seems that categorizing people dominates our discussions. None of these groupings make any sense with out one person at a time being part of a given group. It is the sum that gets the attention. We pay little attention to Siak communities, Uighur folks or Tazmanian families. Why? Because there are not as many of them as say Asian Americans or Muslims. Vast numbers are not the only factor. The degree of impact is more to the point. How many of us knew the difference between a Shiite and Sunni Muslim before the current war in Iraq? Another example would be Jewish communities. In New York one is far more aware of folks with a Jewish heritage because they make up 8.2% of the population. Compare that with a national average of 2.2%. The felt impact is much higher for a New Yorker than any where else in the country.

Yet none of the categories that people end up in mean anything unless there are individuals in them. The individual lends their power and influence to the group. The individual is the smallest minority. The individual makes choices. A group cannot. Some of the perspectives that we have seen so far result in the neglecting of the individual because of the power of the group. Yet such group has no power unless the individual is a member. This is a crucial point in understanding our world. One Tazmanian person does not define all others. There is no human experience unless the individual exists.