[nabs-l] Individualism and Following a Leader

[Ashley Bramlett]

Justin,
If I answered all that, it would be way long.
but the gist is that I believe we need a balance. Just since I join a group 
should not mean I give up my personal identity or thinking for myself.
However, joining a group should mean some comformity to some extent to form 
a cohesive group to move forward.
You should believe in the mission and most programs of the group. You should 
follow through with what you say you are doing.

Its common to think and act a group, called groupthink. We should avoid 
groupthink to its extremes, IMO, but sometimes that's a positive thing.

Ashley

-----Original Message----- 
From: Justin Salisbury via nabs-l
Sent: Sunday, June 22, 2014 2:31 AM
To: 'nabs-l at nfbnet.org'
Subject: [nabs-l] Individualism and Following a Leader

Fellow Federationists:

Let us have a discussion thread about the relationship between individualism 
and following a leader. It appears to me that our generation has been taught 
to focus heavily on individualism, especially in questioning the ideas 
presented to us by leaders and establishments. I appreciate this part of my 
upbringing, but sometimes I wonder if this modern way of thinking can lead 
us to maintain our distance from an outfit in which we might have otherwise 
more actively embraced.

I have analyzed organizations for years as an outsider and, sometimes, as a 
member. For me, two primary organizations stand out as ones where I have 
come to trust the intentions of the leadership: Epsilon Chi Nu Fraternity 
(the first Native American fraternity) and the National Federation of the 
Blind. Epsilon Chi Nu was founded to help Native American men graduate from 
college, and it has added a general purpose of helping native men be the 
best we can be. We are based in love and trust, and we understand that we 
are stronger together than individually, especially as we try to create a 
more positive image of native men than the stereotypes perpetuate. I don't 
have to tell you what we do in the National Federation of the Blind, so I 
would now like to pose some questions:

Does following a leader or identifying with an establishment/organization 
infringe upon one's ability to be an individual?

Are we relinquishing any of our own identity if we identify with an 
organization?

Is an organization a collection of individuals, and do they have individual 
voices?

Is it an individual decision to follow a leader or identify with an 
organization?

I look forward to reading all provided opinions.

Yours,

Justin Salisbury
Board Member
National Association of Blind Students
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