The crowd, in fact, is composed of individuals; it must therefore be in every man's power to become what he is, an individual. From becoming an individual no one, no one at all, is excluded, except he who excludes himself by becoming a crowd. To become a crowd, to collect a crowd about one, is on the contrary to affirm the distinctions of human life. The most well-meaning person who talks about these distinctions can easily offend an individual. But then it is not the crowd which possesses power, influence, repute, and mastery over men, but it is the invidious distinctions of human life which despotically ignore the single individual as the weak and impotent, which in a temporal and worldly interest ignore the eternal truth- the single individual.Anonymous
About This Quote
There are many people who believe that the crowd has power over them. They think that they are excluded from the crowd because they do not have enough money, or fame, or friends. The truth is that crowd does not possess power, it is you who possess all of these things. It is the invidious distinctions between human life which ignore the individual.
There are many people who talk about these distinctions in negative terms, but there are only a few who take on the responsibility to set them right. Many of us are angry at how hard it is to make it in this world, but we should remember that we do not possess the power and influence we see in others because we do not deserve it, we possess it because we deserve it. The single individual is treated like a fool and nothing more by those who wish to be their crowd and ignore them and their truth.
These people need to know that the single individual has power over them; they possess it because they deserve it and not because they happen to be a single individual.
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