The -I- and the -WE.-

"How can she end the book like that?"

I dropped the book onto the table completely disgusted or rather disatisfied with the way Siri Mitchell ended her book "The Cubicle Next Door." (check Siri Mitchell )

Have you ever been engrossed in reading a book only to reach the ending and find that the author went in a separate way? It's the same feeling I got in reading Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" and "No Longer at Ease" and also Ngugi wa Thiong'o's "The River Between" just to name a few exemplary works.

Having had a wonderful literature discussion this morning with my lecturer on the value of good written works-something has come to mind and allow me to share it with you today: "the I and WE."

We live in times where right now what matters is the person-the individual, and doing things because you want them. In essence what we call individualism is very much alive and the "I" rules. But then comes the question of "WE," how can a person think of him/herself when he/she lives amongst people?

How can you think and act in singular when you live among the plural?

Simply put, how can you stand out from the crowd without being cast out by the same crowd? The question of conforming and standing out (not deviating per se) is what we were trying to deal with in our class today. See, I was mad with the writer for not ending the book the way I wanted it to end-and turns out some people were pleased with how it ended on another different level. So, it got me thinking of all the areas in which we expect other people to live up to what we think of them. It's like telling a two year old child who can barely jump to get to the top of a ladder without stepping on the cases. It is impossible unless you place him there and then secure his descending too.

Isn't it wierd how humans work?

The "WE" tells you to be different, unique and think outside the box. It also tells you that you are special and you need to stand out, but when you do this and become an "I" then it ensures you still act within its rules and expectations of the "WE"

You are to be an individual within a community. This is what has got me thinking of our leadership in the private and public sectors. In private sectors leadership is deemed positive while in the public sector it's negative, but with these two influencing the economy, development and most of all mentality of the Country one can't help but wonder when both would indeed stand up for morals and not a camouflage of vices.