When we romanticize - and focus exclusively on - the role of the individual, we deny - what allows that individual to succeed, which is - the power of us.
We don’t need more of 'me, myself and I'; instead, we need to understand how to create and navigate the uniting frameworks of ‘us, ours, and together’.
Over and over we see the need for a new 'us' in the global tensions we’re facing. The Brexit dichotomy, where the cities seem to benefit from globalization while rural areas struggle. Long-hidden sexism becomes an actionable agenda as crowds demand that Uber, Fox, and Google fix their inequities. Tech media companies like Reddit and Facebook face mounting public pressure to reconsider their role in enabling the spread of hate under the umbrella of freedom of speech. These vividly remind us that we don’t need more people advocating for their individual interests, but a new way to recognize — and address — shared interests.
...the organizing principle is not where you’ve come from, but where you want to go.
-- Nilofer Merchant
