The Individual Versus The Group

I hate to beat a dead horse. But no discussion is more material to allowing us to move forward as a people than identifying how allowing the continuation of group discrimination against individuals delays human progress and inflicts needless suffering. We are herd creatures, making decisions and judgments based on our feelings, our prejudices and collective values. We instinctively reject, shut out, attack, treat differently and more harshly any individual that does not join or easily fit in. The outsider is foreign, strange, different, the enemy to be rejected and categorized as inferior. Those who belong are superior, worthy, desirable and require special treatment. Those that are single and apart are less, unworthy, undesirable. They deserve and unfortunately often receive unlike and often shabby, unequal treatment. Based on hard work and meritorious efforts personally along the road to self-improvement equips the individual to develop into someone wonderful and special, often rendering the individual superior to his joining, listless, uninteresting and low performing neighbors. Their inferiority is not innate, and can be reversed with effort, humility, willingness to learn, vision and hard work. There should be no harsh pressure on people to desert the pack and strike out on their own. People have to do as they want to, when they are ready to. On the other hand, no achiever or non-joiner should be attacked or discriminated against. He should be left alone to do his own thing. If the law keeps the wolves off his back, he will makes lots of money, do well in politics, paint beautiful pictures and volunteer for the community betterment programs. He requires no subsidies; he just needs the neighbors and the state to stay out of the way, and not confiscate the fruits of his labor.