Thoughts On Individualism

On this fine free day, I sit in the same corner of my house thinking of what else to write about. A thought passes my brain which I momentarily ignore, then surprisingly ponder on for the next few hours. This thought was created by the incessant replay of the RENT soundtrack and the tweets of a close friend of mine (whose identity will not be disclosed). From this jumbled array of ideas, I was able to extract four key concepts on the idea of individualism. Namely:

• Individualism has been the key to the success of many-- and not of one. If we were all painters, then those who cannot be at par with Michaelangelo or Botticelli would simply fade away in the background. However, since society is a mixture of painters, sculpters, writers and Mathletes, individuality has paved way for many genii. 
• Individualism, however, is also the root of uneven and unnecessary competition. 
• Not all accept the concept of individualism, which is why we have people with low self-esteem and people who fancy themselves the embodiedment of God.
• Individualism is not the opposite of unity. Rather, it is in individualism that authentic unity happens.