Dragon: A Parable

Now that's taking individualism rather too far. No man is an island, and a damn good thing - our lives would be poorer if we lived them alone, without our friends and family helping us cope with the bad time and celebrate the good times. I'm with Spider Robinson on this one: Shared pain is lessened, shared joy increased. The biggest pains and joys should be shared with more people, not fewer. This is how we acknowledge each other as human beings, how we avoid the tantalizing despair of solipsism. It's true that we can fall into the trap of acting in a play on the public stage rather than engaging with the people around us, but destroying all connections with others will not solve our problems so much as change them for the worse. We need to reengage with humanity, not push them all away.