No Man Is An Island

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

-John Donne

We are all involved in mankind, whether we want to be or not.  The money we earn at our jobs was first given to us or our companies by people who require whatever service you have to offer.  The homes we sit in were built by people and the water and electricity that flow into them are maintained by people.  The foods we buy were grown/produced/cooked/synthesized/whatever by people, even if those people were only maintaining the machinery that squirts the peanut butter into its container.  Our cars were made by people and the streets we drive them on are maintained by people; how well is likely tied to how desirable our locales are considered to be, and that means to you whatever that means to you.  I don't have a savings account without first having a bank full of employees who watch it, apply interest to it, and make sure (to the best of their ability) that no one but me gets to use it.  If I plant a garden, I have to obtain seeds and tools prepared by other people.  So on forevermore.

There is much in our culture that holds up this ideal of self-sufficiency, but none of us is truly, in the most literal sense of the word, self-sufficient.  We depend on other humans for things we need.  Even a vegan hermit requires other life-forms for survival.  Some of the systems we have in place reflect where we have rejected isolation in favor of collective improvement.  Have you ever really reflected on the miracle of public education?  A group of people look at the skills needed for various disciplines, gather their knowledge and resources and seek the ideal that every student get the same opportunity to gain skills. Now of course, we haven't yet achieved that ideal because we are human and imperfect and there are millions of variables (one for every kid!) that make it tough to apply consistent standards across schools while also accommodating individual needs.  But man - the fact that a group of people once decided "We will create a system where kids can learn new things and perhaps expand their opportunities" and then offer that system to every child?  Wow.  And I have the job and the opportunities I have because a group of people decided to build my high school, accredit it so that my diploma is valid, and hire qualified teachers who gave me the skills I needed.  And then other people built my college and did all those things.  Some people built roads that enabled me to get to those schools, and still others strung wires up in the air so there would be light to read by.  I could go on for pages.  I am not a self-made chorus teacher.  I am the result of countless individuals, from the college professors who showed me how to run a rehearsal to the elementary school custodians who made sure my environment was sanitary, bringing their skills and efforts to society.

No man is an island.  And if we look at our accomplishments and try to declare ourselves islands, we are lying to ourselves.