An interesting aside came to me as I was reading about the holocaust. We often hear each other say what can we as an individual do? We are just one man against the might of society. How will we succeed where others have failed.
Thats a gross underestimation of the power of the individual spirit. In the holocaust's case all it took was one man's hatred to turn an entire country against a particular group of people. The cold efficacy with which one man's willing was carried out is a strong testament to the power of the one. I could have chosen the example of Mahatma Gandhi or Nelson Mandela but somehow the fact that the power of the one can cause so much destruction drives the point home just that bit harder.
Furthermore, imagine if someone had to stand up against such hatred the refrain again would have been what can one man do? But then you were up against the one man propagated through all these people he had manipulated.
Harness the power of the one within you to do some good. Its way stronger than you can ever imagine it to be.
PS: This is one video which somehow emphasized the point even more. Read about it:
Very nicely written!! :) But don't people rally others around their cause, all the while going closer to what has now become the common goal of the group? And when that happens, I do not think it is entirely correct to say that it is because of that one person anymore. It definitely is the collective that mattered right? If no one had listened to Hitler or Gandhi, WW II may have happened some other way, some other time and we may have got independence some other way, some other time. Working with a group of committed, like minded people is so important and is so often underestimated because we like to glorify personalities. Me thinks.
ReplyDeleteHmmm.. makes sense.. but my counter argument would be.. If we had no one like Hitler would there have been a person to rally others in the first place? Like minded people do exist but they need a leader to find their calling.
ReplyDeleteAfter an hour of typing and backspacing I realise I've been thinking of an ideal world where people will come together when they see a cause and will work towards it to completion. But I realised that there is a need for a person to do the bringing and keeping together. You are right about the power of that one person. I'd just add that that person should not underestimate the power of the small group of people who they must collect and then do all the driving together. Without this realisation that "one" won't go too far. Right?
ReplyDeletePerfectly right.
ReplyDelete