It is said that Frank Lloyd Wright, eminent American architect, often chose to disobey traffic lights, blowing right through red lights because he disliked them and resented mindless authority. On examination, Wright honored few rules other than the ones he devised. “Individuality realized,” he said, “is the supreme attainment of the human soul, the master-master's work of art. Individuality is sacred.” He declined to be herded, choosing instead to be governed by his own rules.
The January 6th insurrection was a test run of American individualism clashing against the foundational canons of government. People who place value on independence have little faith (or no faith at all) in state mandated rules and regulations. Many of the insurgents held populist views, anti-elitist sentiments, were opposed to the Establishment, and held right-wing beliefs that they represented "common people" opposing the forces of political collectivism. “We the People,” in this case, charged the ramparts of the overlords and the neoliberal overseers. Something like that. Undoubtedly, the rioters had various motivations in attacking the US Congress, but they had a shared theme in wanting to overturn the results of a recent election. Their cheerleader, Trump himself, urged them to “fight like hell.” If one reads Trump’s whole speech prior to the uprising, one must conclude that he was doing that “Let’s get ready to rumble” intro that Michael Buffer is famous for before bigtime prizefights.
Unlike China’s society, organized to give primacy to the collective rather than to the individual, Americans have been brought up in a culture that approves of self-reliance and autonomy from group authority. Cultures that emphasize collectivism typically value group cohesion over individual aspirations. Those cultures that place a higher value on independence have general misgivings about mandates overriding personal choices. So, it should be no surprise that the MAGA crowd would storm the fortress of power, the United States Congress. Not recognizing the irony of a mob following the direction of the herd master, a soon to become a former president of the United States, those individualists were blown by the winds of insurrection, and believed, I assume, that they were battling for their independence, their freedom, not for the dictatorial ambitions of Trump.
Accordingly, think of the attributes that compose American inspirational leaders. Daniel Boone, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Amelia Earhart, Martin Luther King, Jr., George Washington, Jackie Robinson, Benjamin Franklin, Henry David Thoreau, Sitting Bull—these names come to mind when I think of American figures who helped define our national identity. You may add generously to the list because almost all noteworthy Americans share a streak of individualism. Each in his or her way shaped a nation that elevated individual rights, merit, achievement, and personal agency above the controlling authority of the time. The American hero is a maverick, an underdog, and an against-all-odds fighter. Rocky Balboa of the “Rocky” films, Indiana Jones, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” Thelma Dickerson and Louise Sawyer, of “Thelma & Louise,” Rooster Cogburn, of “True Grit,” and Karen Silkwood, of “Silkwood” come readily to mind.
In contrast, a collectivist culture emphasizes social harmony and group needs over individual rewards. While we may view Tank Man during the Tiananmen Square protests as one who brilliantly defied authority, the Chinese view would see him as one involved in a collective demonstration. It is not the ant but the anthill that matters. Utopian experiments have leaned on collective aims—societies envisioned by Karl Marx or those fashioned after a kibbutz have communal goals superseding individual ones.
Our Declaration of Independence promotes the rights of an individual, and our Constitution reinforces individual liberties juxtaposed against the collective authority of government. That can be messy, as seen by the wrong-headed and criminal attack on our Capitol, but that’s what makes us at once both exceptional and imperfect. As we’ve been told, democracy is messy. We are a people who want to drive rather than take a backseat. We can do it (whatever it is) on our own. Old Blue Eyes put it succinctly in his song, “My Way.” Don’t tread on us. Stand back. For better or worse, we still have the American Dream to fulfill.
We believe in the one over the many! Sadly, we sometimes miss acknowledging the tyranny that one tub-thumper pounds into his disciples.