As the world population edges toward eight billion, I marvel at the power of one—one person, one idea, one transforming moment. The first domino that topples the whole column, the first flash that ignites the fuse, the first crack in orthodoxy’s ramparts—it is that first pressure that redirects what we knew to what we know. Let me explain.
You may remember Tank Man, the anonymous Chinese protester who bravely stood in front of a column of tanks in June of 1989 near Tiananmen Square. As the lead tank maneuvered to get around him, he shuffled in front of the 36-ton war machine, the resulting standoff destined to become a deep-rooted image displayed on screens and in newspapers everywhere. That one iconic act of defiance galvanized much of the world to think about the significance of liberty, if not embrace it. That one incident became embedded in the minds of people throughout the world. Though the Chinese government labeled the protest as criminally counter-revolutionary, everyone outside China knew that Tank Man and his compatriots, maybe as many as a million who gathered in the square, protested for freedom and democracy. No one knows what happened to him, but a consensus of China watchers believe that Tank Man was executed shortly after the uprising was put down, after thousands were wounded or killed during the sweep of the square. One man. One moment. One stirring incident that briefly turned the world upside down.
Tank Man brings to mind others who, because of a moment of bravery, challenged authority and suddenly dogeared a page in history. Martin Luther, Joan of Arc, Thomas Paine, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Rosa Parks, Malala Yousafzai, Greta Thunberg—all these celebrated figures stand toward the front of a long line of people who became consequential because they took a gutsy stand for an enduring belief. Each one pushed back against the authorities of the day. They prove the value in the power of one.
Underscoring those religious flagbearers who singlehandedly changed humankind (Jesus, the Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius, Krishna, Abraham, and several significant others), we later find their disciples who disseminated that newborn influence: Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, and so on. These followers added exponentially to the immense importance of what was begun by one person, one idea, one devoted spiritual taxonomy.
But for every history-making hero, there is, sadly, an equal but opposite history-making scoundrel. One person can, of course, set in motion powerful harmful outcomes. Think of Mussolini, Robespierre, Hitler, Stalin, Generalissimo Franco, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Mao Zedong, and many others who caused carnage and destruction simply by asserting their power over millions of innocents. Woefully, the destroyers are as common as dirt across the landscape of human history. They pop up like weeds.
Think of the recent damage one man, Trump, wrecked on America. Trump encouraged Americans to offend each other, to hate each other, all in the name of what’s good for Trump is what’s good for Trump and only Trump so help me Trump. He spread lies and insults against anyone who did not hoist his banners. That’s who he is. That’s what he will continue to do as long as he stays on the public stage. How he managed to gather all his followers to do his bidding let alone listen to his demagoguery falls into a time-honored pattern. Resentment. Figure out what people resent and play it for all it’s worth. Then keep playing it until everyone is dancing a violent frenzy of hatred. Hate the media. Hate immigrants. Hate the elite. Hate Hillary. Hate Muslims. Hate Jews. Hate liberals. Hate progressives. Hate the Chinese. Hate African Americans. Hate those who don’t hate with the proper vigor. Hate is a powerful force. And it can ruin a country and the well-meaning people within it.
It only takes one. Just one.