The socialist believes the state is supreme and the individual is subordinate or secondary to priorities of the government. This is a shame because American virtues begin with the individual. This perverse outlook causes all sorts of friction and hostility because a nation is really nothing but millions of individuals seeking to express their uniqueness.
Nonetheless, this is the classic statist and by extension, socialist tenet. The truth, however, is that God made each of us a unique, one of a kind work of art and we are enormously valuable in His eyes. To God, each one of us is an unrepeatable miracle.
As parents, we can identify with this assessment based on experience with our own kids. Each and every one of our own children is priceless and irreplaceable. We’d never think of sacrificing the dreams and ambitions of even one child for the greater good of the family unit. Ayn Rand aptly noted that, “The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.
Psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, Viktor Frankl recognized the sanctity of every individual life when he wrote, “Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated, thus, everyone’s task is unique as his specific opportunity to implement it.
One of the main reasons we have been as richly blessed as a nation is that our system of liberties, rooted in free-will, has allowed individuals to flourish, to come alive as artists and athletes, as entrepreneurs and entertainers, as school teachers and firefighters, as corporate tycoons and political leaders. This is a good thing. God made us, not as a group, but as purpose-filled, individual souls, as one of a kind and distinct.
Let’s keep it this way.
Let’s stop the war on success.
