You see, there is nothing to help describe what this means: nothing to simplify it, dumb it down, or point it in a direction. It is a brief reminder of what it is like to be self-aware, an individual in a crowd rather than a faceless beast.
Strangely, as there is no elaboration to the sentance, nobody but the beholder of your life can truly describe the first word: "I," which is nearly worshiped by authors and poets like Ayn Rand, as it represents what can only be experienced by you. Nobody in the entire world has lived your life, and anybody who decides to take a walk in your shoes never had the oppertunity of picking the size.
Even though it has such influence over us, we cannot accept that the word "I," speaks against altruism and common interest. For example, a communnist is still self aware, but instead of acting for the benefit of himself, he acts for the benefits of the people around him, expecting (perhaps gullibly) a likewise treatment. Neither can we accept that it protrudes onself from the gathering webs of connection to our fellow man: Just as one may have an opinion, another may share the opinion. This does not need to be shunned, or fled from. It is the human desire for a common goal, or object.
The words enscribed upon this document do not speak for any one side of the cultural spectrum. Neither objectivisim nor collectivism can be truly wiped from the slate, as the words "I Am," take from both. "I," being objective, and "Am," being collective, as the mere existence of any person alludes to the fact that more than one person came together to concieve and raise them; they ARE (conjugation of AM) not truly independent, and have never been.
~E. James Roderick
