Prompt: Has the emphasis on individualism in our society caused people to forget the importance of belonging to a community?
Throughout history, individuals have questioned whether the emphasis on individualism in our society caused people to forget the importance of belonging to a community. Those who contend that the community no longer exists may cite such examples as early as the seventeenth century Italian Renaissance arguing that artist and humanists have exercised the concept of individualism to such an extent that decades later people have accumulated this arrogant mindset. However, examples from such diverse fields of classical literature and law prove that this notion is not necessarily valid. To Kill a Mockingbird and the conviction of used-car salesman J. Fred Thomson exemplifies that our society still remains to exercise the pride of a community.
In the literary work To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee in 1945, the protagonist Atticus Finch lives in a racially prejudiced society while defending Tom Robinson, an African-American man. After enduring the harsh criticism from other racially biased whites, Finch was led to believe he was alone and there were few left to support his decision; nevertheless, he continued to persevere throughout the trial. Later, he realizes that all of the black society joined him during the trial to bolster his spirit and remain optimistic about the fate of Tom Robinson. Finch demonstrates that it is plausible to maintain the spirit of a community although an individual may be doing an unorthodox task.
As a final vivid example, consider the January, 2005 conviction of used-car salesman J. Fred Thomson, on several accounts of patent infringement in Harris County, Texas. In an effort to boost his small business, Thomson took the endeavor of creating a website to best suit the public’s needs when buying a used car. However, patent owner Henry Carlson filed a lawsuit arguing that Thomson’s website had overstepped its boundaries when the website was able to generate a report as to what used-car would best suit the user. This enraged Thomson and many other business owners, who argued this treatment of patents is unfair and deemed it an abuse of a patent holder. Throughout the court case, Thomson was not alone; he was joined with 12 other key figures, along with several ordinary citizens in Harris County who ardently vouched for his defense, which led to his success in the trial. In the eyes of those who observed this court trial, Thomson and the rest of Harris County remain to be a revered symbol representing that although some look for the benefit for just themselves, many will always join those in need to emphasize the importance of a community.
Clearly the above examples illustrate the existence of a community even though each person is viewed as an individual. As Atticus Finch learned, he was not alone, but rather supported by hundreds of blacks from the African American community. Moreover, the situation in the Harris County, Texas demonstrated that a community did indeed exist and helped Thomson throughout the court trial thus bringing him to victory in his defense. Through exercising our spirit in a community, our world, as we know it, will be one step closer to relishing perpetual glory in a utopian society as predicted by Philosopher Thomas More.