Difference obligates

When a horde of locusts sweeps over a land destroying all the vegetation in its path, neither the horde nor the individual locusts have any idea that they are destroying at all. They are just being what they are. Many in the world would consider them pests that need to be eradicated, others hear of locusts and think of a fried-peanut-like delicacy, and far too many people think absolutely nothing at all, because they weren't directly affected one way or the other.

When a horde of marauders or bandits or whomever sweeps over a land destroying everything in its path, both the horde and the individuals within it know perfectly well that they are destroying. They are not being simply what they are, they are being what they, at that moment, want to be. Those affected by their actions certainly see them as more than just pests that need to be eradicated. Others hear of what has happened and think how awful, and far too many people think absolutely nothing at all, because they weren't affected one way or the other.

The difference between the actions of all involved in both cases is that we can tell the difference between what just is and what needn't be. Another difference is that we can hear about both, regardless of how far away we might be. In other words, we know; we are aware; the event has become part of our individual experience, perhaps not radically or existentially, but a part nevertheless. Fish don't know about locusts, and neither do most other animals. But we know because we're different. We are capable of knowing. That makes all the difference in the world.

Whereas a bear or a dog or a fish may simply go on about its business, we can't. We would never expect the bear or the dog or the fish to react at all because we know they don't know about locusts or marauders so it would truly be unfair for us to expect them to care. We, however, are different. We know. We know the difference, because we are different, and that difference obligates.

When you know, when you have been made aware, you can no longer claim ignorance as a defense. Once you know, you are involved ... perhaps only tangentially, perhaps only remotely, but you are involved. Sure you can maintain that you're half-a-world away so what could you do? Quite a few of those that are helping those people, though, often come from half-a-world away. So why should we allow you that excuse? You can claim you're just one person, what effect could you have? But you have no friends? You know no one? You live in a bubble?

But, hey, we don't even have to go that far: what about the homeless person you pass on the way to work? The street musician you love to hear but cross to the other side of the street so you don't have to toss anything into her hat? What about the guy next door who keeps beating his wife or girl friend? What about, well, anything you know and do absolutely nothing about? Yes, what about it?

A significant difference between us and the animals is simply that we can know. But when you know and you do nothing, you aren't doing anyone a favor, especially not yourself. You are simply denying your own humanity.

The human part

It seems to me that the only creatures on the planet who aren't pulling their weight, so to speak, are us. Yes, we humans have been and continue to drop the ball. Our mineral and vegetative co-inhabitants can't do otherwise, and my point in the last post was no more than our animal cousins are doing their part as well. Chimps are being chimps, dolphins are being dolphins, dogs are being dogs, and on and on and on. The only creatures in the Grand Scheme who are -- at least to my mind -- are not living up to their potential and possibilities are us. We humans, who should be at least a contributor to the solution, are in fact the root of a great number of problems. Why? Because we -- for whatever reasons -- refuse to be what are, namely human.

We don't have to agree on the whole spectrum of things that make us what we are, so we can take any of them at random and ask whether we are somehow exhibiting that characteristic. For example, self-awareness: I wouldn't argue that most people are aware of themselves; I would maintain, however, that too many of us are too aware of ourselves ... it's called egotism. Or, let's take questioning: most people I know can handle asking for directions, but things break down quickly as soon as they ask themselves why are we here, or why do humans exist. A completely different kind of question, is it not? Or, how about morality, knowing the difference between right and wrong: there things start breaking down -- rates of incarceration, violent crime, war, torture, abuse ... the list goes on. And if we take it to the next level and think about acting accordingly, we really find little, if any, support: bankers know they are scamming their customers, but they do it unreservedly till the economy crashes causing pain and suffering to millions of people ... and then do it again, the first chance they get.

This is what I mean about being human. We know that we're destroying the planet and the environment, but we have (or those with enough influence and power have) made the decision that money is more important. It is that simple. That 100 people should enjoy a short-term benefit even though billions should suffer is not exactly what I understand under "living up to one's potential". Good and bad doesn't have to be about anything big. We can literally start small: admitting we were wrong, pulling back when we realize our egos are storming ahead, choosing a less harsh way of criticizing another person ... here, too, the list is endless. What is more, a lot of little people could get together to make (alleged) big people aware of the damage they are causing (i.e., the bad they are doing) and getting them to stop.

There are many things about us that constitute our humanity, what makes us human. They are everyday things. Things we, for the most part, take for granted, because they come so naturally to us. When I admonish all of us to live up to our potential, it is any and all of these things that I'm talking about.

There are two parts to being human, then: to acknowledge what makes us different from our animal cousins, and to start trying to act accordingly. It's really not all that difficult when you stop to think about it.

Everybody's got a part to play

The admonition to "be human" is all well and good, but I'm fairly sure that we all don't mean the same thing when we say it. This is one of those simple, everyday phrases that flow over our lips ever so lightly, but are nevertheless exceptionally hard to grasp and hard to wrap our heads around. So just what am I talking about? Fair enough question.

For those who may have missed it or those who still aren't sure, let me say it again: I do not believe that human beings are "just" animals, or just animals who can talk or ... fill in any blank you like. Having said that, I also would hasten to add that I don't consider human beings better than any other living creature on Earth, I don't consider us "special" in any meaning of the word (even the negative ones), I don't think we are any more than what we are: humans, a very different species that is just as embedded in Nature as are dogs or cats or amoebas. So why all the fuss?

It's very simple really: since we are different, since we have abilities and capabilities that other living creatures do not have, such as awareness of our self-awareness, refined, complex, and subtle language capabilities (e.g., tenses, the ability to question), and since we have created such an subject as morals and morality (in simplest terms, knowing the different between good and bad), in order to warrant the distinction of being called "human", we are required, obligated, condemned (?) to exhibit precisely those characteristics that make us different from other living creatures.

I don't know about you, but I never expected Charley the Chimp or Flipper the Dolphin or Fido the Dog to find a cure for cancer or paint a Mona Lisa or write the Great American (or any other) Novel. I also never expected any of them to preach the Sermon on the Mount or understand and advocate living in accordance with the Ten Commandments or the Golden Rule (in any of its variations) or to prove the existence of the Higgs boson. And I also don't know about you, but I don't think any less of any of them for not being able to do that. It's not their thing, and it need not be their thing. They have other, equally important and significant, roles to play in Creation or Nature or Reality or whatever else you may want to call it. When we take a step back from our subject, we quickly realize that in this wonderfully diverse chaos we call The World, there are a lot of roles to be played and a lot of functions to be fulfilled, and no single species or entity can do any more than what it -- individually and collectively -- is able to do.

And it there that we find the rub. You see, the chimps and dolphins and dogs and whatever else do everything they need do. They fulfill their own reason for being. They play their parts in the Grand Scheme of Things and make their contributions to the balance of the Universe. For my part, I'm convince that they can't do otherwise, but that doesn't lessen their contribution to that balance one little bit. They are what they, they are true to their nature and they do their part to ensure that things are as they are. For that, we should be eternally grateful.

Flogging, fogging, and finding our way

There are no doubt some who think I'm flogging a dead horse, or at least it seems to be so. That's not what's going on. There are some things in life, this this shared Reality of ours, that are simply very difficult to grasp, simply because the things in question are things we simply take for granted. No one should ever underestimate the power of taking something for granted.

The minute we take something for granted, we consider it a "given". It's one of those things that we can't imagine could ever be questioned in any way. They are simply instances of "the way things are", and they are things that we, individually or collectively, can do nothing about. And nothing could be farther from the truth.

For as much as we might like to think, and for as much as "science" may want us to believe, that we are "just animals", that's not how things are. For those philosophers among you who are asking whether we can really know anything at all, I can only say, yes we can. We know that we have a lot of characteristics that we share with other animals, especially primates, but there are just simply a few things about us that make us different. Viva la difference. It's the difference that, well, makes the difference.

We need to be clear on this. Without interpreting in any way, shape or form, human beings are simply different. Our degree of self-awareness (not self-awareness per se), the intensity of our language capabilities (not just having or not having a "language), our ability to point and beware of "the other", our ability to be aware of and plan for the future, to question, to speculate and hypothesize, to create art for its own sake are all indications that we simply are not just like other animals. It's OK that it is that way. We don't need to be "just" animals, but if we are not, we should, at a minimum, be true to whatever it is we are, and that, in the end, is human.

Humans, it should be noted, are the only creatures who possess the notion of "inhuman", which is very different from the notion of, say, "non-human". We recognize these distinctions in the simplest forms of expression, in the concepts we use (and in this case, this concept can be found in all languages, not just English). Whereas "non-human" may merely distinguish us from our animal cousins, a word, a notion, a concept, such as "inhuman" carries with it -- in every language -- a negative connotation. When we hear the word, we know what is meant is not good. To be inhuman is to act in a way that negates (or ignores) one's own humanity.

Again, I'm not making a case for a special treatment or consideration of humanity. I believe we are, just like all other species, sentient or not, part of a greater configuration we call Nature, or Reality, or whatever. We have to acknowledge, however, that we know we are a part of it, that we know we are different, and this knowledge obligates us to act accordingly. It's not a matter of well-that's-just-how-things-are, rather, we need to behave in a manner commensurate with our difference. We need to be human.

Self-awareness and the awareness of others

Anyone who has been slipping in and out of these blogs over the time I've been writing them, and especially anyone who has been following lately will have recognize that this idea, this notion, this concept of "the Other" plays a big role in what I write. If you've noticed, I've done my job. If you haven't, allow me to get a bit more direct.

Think about it: all of us are here in this reality (at least, I hope, all of you who are reading this); we share a common space (here) and a common time (now); we have common feelings, such as being happy, sad, frustrated, relieved, and more; we may speak different languages, but we all communicate (for better or worse); we have different backgrounds and experiences, but we nevertheless can relate to one another because of this (not in spite of this); we all dream and hope and yearn, and we know that other human beings do so as well. As I never tire of saying, we have much more in common than whatever it is that makes us different.

One of the real advantages (and unfortunately, obligating characteristics) we have as human beings is that we know, are aware of, recognize, and (often begrudgingly) acknowledge that there are other creatures in this reality, in this here and now (and for the more advanced, that then and there) who are very much like ourselves. In other words, we are aware of ourselves (I keep getting the feeling that there is a "me" in "my head" who experiences things) and we are aware of others who are like ourselves (that is, "you's" and, in general "others", who experience similar things as well). We take this all for granted, I know, but if you stop and reflect upon it, this is quite an amazing, if not mysterious, state of affairs. For as much as we love our pets (as we should), they're not doing this. For as much as we are stunned by the capabilities of whales and dolphins and chimpanzees and bonobos, they aren't doing this either. They're close, I'll give you that, but they are not quite there (perhaps, yet, but that remains to be seen). Without going over the top, I have to admit, that there is something about us humans that makes us different (not necessarily better ... and Lord knows, judged by our behavior, not at all better) than our animal cousins.

The simple fact is we are capable of much different things than they are, and, what is also worth noting, those things of which we are capable, can have a far greater impact on others, our environment, on the world in general than any of our cousins can generate. In other words, knowing about, being aware of the consequences, or impact, of our thoughts and our actions, in simplest terms, obligates us to be more conscious of whatever it is we are doing. This is, I admit, an extremely difficult idea to grasp. It is, nevertheless, more important than ever.

We don't have to go so far as to believe that we are the pinnacle of creation or the end-purpose of whatever. What we do have to realize is that since we are capable of so much, our responsibility for what we do is just as great. Just because we can doesn't mean we should. Instead, it means we should be careful (of what we do).

Summertime

"Summertime ... and the livin' is easy ..."

Just quoting a popular song. That's how it should be, but it's not how it is. There's lots going on in these parts, including big family events, and, well, that easy-living part is somehow escaping me.

It's OK, though. After all, I have a family, an intact one as well. That's something of a rarity, let's face it. I have kids who don't mind when we (the parents) come to visit, and not just because we'll be leaving soon. I have kids who don't mind coming to visit, because they know they can't overstay their welcome. We don't have a lot of relatives around -- unfortunately -- but those we have, we appreciate, and ... guess what ... they don't mind if we come to visit and we don't mind if they show up on our doorstep either. In this regard, I'm one very lucky person.

Families just aren't what they used to be, I know. There are those that went sour in the good old days and there are those that never get it together in our rough-and-tumble-hectic times today. Societally, big families are (again, unfortunately) frowned upon (have three, or more!) kids and show up at a sit-down restaurant ... anywhere, and see how you're greeted. Given the amount of time we have to devote at work being productive (for little or no reward) and how many families who are fortunate enough to find enough work only have it if everyone, including the kids, are employed, it's surprising that we even have the concept anymore. It's so sad. Really sad. I'm not one to yearn for the "good old days", that weren't really, but I do think we've done ourselves a disservice, as a culture and as a society, they we have more or less destroyed the family.

Don't get me wrong, families are not a panacea for anything. Every family has their up and their down sides. Some are better than others, but when we think back over the last few posts, it isn't hard to realize that what I'm advocating is a place where we think -- no, where we feel -- we belong. This simple sense, this feeling, of belonging is very important for us human beings. Anyone who has experienced it knows exactly what I'm talking about. Anyone who hasn't doesn't know what they are missing.

In this day and age when family and relatives may be far away, because we all have to do where the work is and travel has increased the chances that we end up somewhere else, we may have to piece our "families" together ... plastic families, if you will. There were times in my own life when our friends served as proxy uncles, aunts and grandparents for my own children whose real relatives were an ocean or a continent away. They aren't the worse for wear because of it, and they certainly appreciate(d) it all the more when they were able to spend time with their "real" relatives. It all has to do, in the end, with what you think is important in your lives.

Even though we had no real family around most of the time, we still opted for family. Why? Because spending time with and engaging "the other" is always worth the effort.

Tomorrow's Bastille Day

Tomorrow, though most of my francophobic (Freedom fries?) countrypeople don't know it, is Bastille Day. This is the French equivalent of America's 4th of July: a great day for praising one's own greatness (which the Grande Nation is very adept at, like their American cousins) and for celebrating one's accomplishments (even if they are drenched in blood). More than anything, it makes a great day for flag-waving. That makes July a pretty red-white-and-blue month, I suppose.

Far be it from me to pick on the French. Even they don't necessarily want to speak English when I'm there, and even if they do frown upon my speaking German, I like France; I particularly like Paris, Bordeaux, and Avignon, where I have been fortunate enough to spend more time. No, the French, as much as anybody, perhaps even rivaling Americans, are deeply imbued with that, as Einstein called it, "infantile disease" called Patriotism.

As I pointed out just a few posts ago, Americans may be suffering from a terminal case of the disease, but the French are not far behind. There are lot of others, like the British, the Dutch, the Russians, the Chinese, just to name a few, who are not far behind. Like I said then, I don't get it. I just don't understand it. There have been a lot of disastrous things happen in the course of human history, and most of them have been perpetrated either by religions or countries (or what we, in retrospect, call countries or nations). Whatever truly great things that have happened in the course of human history, like the mastery of fire, the discovery of the wheel, the finding of a cure for some terminal disease, have all been done by individual human beings (with the huge support of other human beings from other countries and other cultures). It's not the country that makes the difference, it's the person.

When you look around you to see what is great about the world you live in, you'll always find that, first and foremost, it was brought to you by another person. People matter. Not organizations, not localities, not tribes, not regions and not countries ... people matter. I don't know why that is so hard to grasp, but apparently it is.

The real difference, in my mind, between people and countries is simple: people are here now; they are with you; you can feel, smell and touch them; they are real and concrete. Nations, on the other hand, are mere abstractions. They serve their purpose, to be sure, but it is a small purpose in contrast to what another human being can do for you.

Think about it.

Why do I do this?

Recently, at a conference I was attending, someone asked me why I blogged. They didn't really see the point of it all. "Isn't this simply the satisfaction of some narcisstic need?", she asked. Well, I decided to tell you what I told her.

There are lots of reasons why people blog. They range from mere getting attention, to feeling important, to exposing injustice to ... well, the list is actually endless. There are millions of bloggers and there are millions of reasons for blogging. Mine, I like to think, are anything but grandiose. In fact, I believe they are really humble. And there are five (just a handful) of them:

1. It is my firm belief that there is not enough thinking going on the world. I'm not talking about mere mental processes, I'm talking about serious, deep engagement with things that matter, like what it means to be human, what role do we play in our own lives, why are there so many "problems" in the world, and why such a beautiful place as our Earth is being wantonly destroyed before our eyes.
2. William James once said, "A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices." I couldn't agree with him more, and I don't think that such "thinking" is to our collective advantage. It is used for personal advantage, to be sure, but selfishness isn't a human characteristic that need be writ large.
3. All of us are in the same boat together. It's called Reality. It's not an easy thing to deal with. We can use all the help we can get. There is only so much we can know, but there is an infinite amount of what we think we know. That's not always helpful. The more reasonably we can agree can make a huge difference in how things play out.
4. We humans have a pivotal, if not central, role in what we call Creation or Nature or The World ... it doesn't matter what we call it. None of us chose to be here, but we're here nevertheless ... all of us. We, whether we like it or not, have more to say about how things play out than any other species on the planet, and I think it's about time we start living up to our potential.
5. In the end, it is up to us -- all of us -- whether my and your children and grandchildren live in a world worth living in. This is not an exaggeration, it is a fact. We humans have been blessed (cursed?) with the notion of responsibility. It's time for us to 'fess up.

In other words, at heart, I blog because I want people to stop, reflect on what they are thinking, and if possible, rethink what needs rethinking, not just for themselves, but for all our sakes'. Yes, that's a pretty big charge, I know.

Life's not simple, and it's surely not easy, but it's not complicated either, at least if we don't make it so. It is, however, manageable, if we go about it with a clear head. We are faced with innumerable challenges and choices every day, and we can really only make headway if we acknowledge this and do something about it. But, whatever we do, we should have thought about it first.

What you think is not nearly as important as the fact that you have thought about it. Opinions, as it is said, should be the result of thinking, not a substitute for it.

Just a handful of years

No one should get the idea that I'm making fun of people who love their country. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I am merely saying that I, personally, don't understand the fascination, because you are born where you are born by mere chance and whatever it is you call your country today might something very different tomorrow.

What I suspect lies behind these feelings, though, may be worth thinking about, namely, our common, individual desire to belong: to be a part of something meaningful, to be accepted, to know there is something greater than ourselves, something that gives us a feeling of safety, security, and being welcome ... somewhere we are not just lone, often lost, individuals, isolated, alienated, and lonely.

We humans are, at bottom, social creatures. We need and desire the company of others. We're not rugged individualists who can survive on our own (well, except for a couple of eccentric hermits). We function best in groups, and this is OK. It's what makes us what we are and it is something we need to seriously recognize and acknowledge, not merely hoot and holler about from time to time. It's never about just "I" or "me", part of being human is knowing and embracing "we". Studies have shown that we do best in groups that do not exceed about 150 individuals. Fortunately, for us, each of our 150-people groupings overlap with other 150-people groupings of people in our group. While the intensity of the relationship decreases, the principle of relationship remains: we cooperate, we try to get along with one another, not necessarily compete. Cooperation is the natural state of being, not competition.

Obviously, that's not how things are in the world today, for a whole litany of reasons, most of them bad ones. It is unfortunate that things have developed this way, for our world is not a better place for it. We have inverted the natural state of things, from cooperation to competition, and while we have made great advances in some areas, we have ruined and destroyed a lot along the way. I think we can get just as far, less destructively, if we are true to who we are. It's time to change our minds and shake off that which is simply alien to our nature.

If anything, this simple message is at the heart of just about everything I have been posting on this blog for the last five years. The official anniversary is tomorrow. A lot of words have flowed over the network in that time, to be sure, but when one writes, one always wonders whether one is making any sense as well. Anyone who has ever tried to find something worthwhile to say for any period of time, regardless how short, knows precisely what I'm talking about. For some, five years is nothing, but for others it's half a decade, a significant chunk of life. I would be lying if I said I was weary of writing, but it is not always easy to find the right words to say what it is I really mean. Sometimes it flows, and sometimes it is simply very frustrating.

On this occasion, then, I would like to thank all of you who bother to read these posts. Whether you agree or not does not matter: I write so that you can read, and I appreciate that you do. For those whose feel their toes have been stepped on, I'm sorry, but I can only call things as I see them. I would be doing both you and me a disservice to simply be agreeable all the time. We're allowed to and should disagree on things, for it is only in the interaction, in the dialog, that truth may be found.

None of us is born with the Truth. We all have it search for it together.

The 4th of July

Yes, yes, yes, it is that time again. Break out the BBQ, fire up the coals, get ready for the fireworks ... it's time to celebrate. This is a big day for Americans, that's for sure, but what is it exactly they are celebrating? This is not a question that just sprang to mind. I've been asking it for most of my life. Most Americans will tell you, it was on July 4, 1776 that America declared its independence from Britain and became a new nation (though it took a war and 13 more years to establish that fact), signaling a new era in the development of the nation-state and enshrining freedom and liberty as the hallmarks of this new phase of existence.

Now, I really don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but right here at the outset, I find myself confused. Historians agree that the Peace of Westphalia (1648) marks the birth of the modern nation-state. The USA certainly wasn't the first, and as we have seen over the course of the last 366 years, nation-states come and go. Just ask Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union, if you don't believe me. There are older people in the Czech Republic who have had three different nationalities in their lifetime and they've never left their village. Just what kind of a role does the nation really play in our lives?

And how is it that these people -- or any of us for that matter -- become citizens? I have an American passport because I was born there. How did I come to be born there? The luck of the draw. There is no rational reason why I couldn't have been born in Sub-Saharan Africa or in China or Tibet, or on some Lapp island above the Artic Circle. We place absolutely no value on chance or coincidence in any other aspect of our lives, but when it comes to which passport you can get, one's place of birth is a really big deal. A mere chance event has everything to say about one's loyalties, one's obligations, and one's commitments. Why is it only applicable in this case?

OK, maybe it's about the ideas of Freedom and Liberty. Well, back there in 1776, only white, male property owners were free. There was still indentured servitude; women were chattel; slavery was not only legal but acceptable, and we were on the threshold of carrying out the systematic and ruthless genocide of all those people who were there before the Europeans came to "settle this savage land". What does freedom and liberty mean to these people? And, how free is a country with a concentration camp in Guantanamo where they can send their own citizens without due process (provisions of the NDAA)? How free is a country which brutally suppresses peace demonstrations (cf. reaction to the Occupy movement)? How free is a country that spies upon and collects data on its citizenry for no other reason than they they can? How free is a country that enslaves its more fortunate young people with life-long debt and which denies opportunites to its less fortunate (read: poor) youth? How free is a country that blatantly expects more for itself than for any other country (say, like Iraq)?

Don't get me wrong: I love holidays as much as the next fellow, maybe even more. I love celebrating and having a good time and being able to spend quality time with family and friends. You will have to excuse me, however, if I don't get all choked up and teary-eyed. I'm saving that for such a time that the USA (or any other country, for that matter) actually makes an honest attempt to live up to the ideals they claim to hold so highly. If you want me on your side, walk the walk, don't just talk the talk.

So, who are we?

It turns out, the everyday (to us), rather mundane, act of pointing, is one of humanity's most profound gestures. Only humans point. Yes, you can forget the apes and other simians who do not do it in the wild and dogs which have been specifically trained to so.) Pointing is unique to humans.

Raymond Tallis, in his fascinating book, Michelangelo's Finger, tells us that due to the physiology of our hands (in particular, fractionated finger movements: separating and unfolding of index finger), we are physically able to point at all, but pointing itself consists of four essential components. You need a

1. producer – the person doing the pointing;
2. pointer – used by the producer to do the pointing
3. pointee – that which is pointed out and
4. consumer – the one who benefits from the pointing.

What is more, pointing; that is, genuine, meaningful pointing, has three fundamental characteristics. It is, namely,

1. dialogic – interactive; that is, it is for someone else’s benefit;
2. specific – it singles out the referent, a particular pointee and
3. directional – it is away from the pointing hand.

And this what makes it uniquely human, for the act encompasses five unique points of human self-consciousness. Pointing is

1. uniquely sustained;
2. uniquely complex;
3. unique to its contents;
4. uniquely stitched together internally both within a moment and between moments and
5. uniquely interwoven with self-consciousness of others.

This last point is particularly important. The ability to point, the ease and naturalness with which we do it (babies do it and understand it before they can even speak), shows that this ability is intimately linked to the explicit awareness of one’s own body, but even more importantly, it is linked to the explicit awareness of another’s mind.

We are not just hunks of self-mobile flesh. We are not mere animals, even if we share much more of our being with our animal cousins than we may like to admit. We humans -- and it is this which provides us with the most significant and fundamental distinction to other sentient beings -- know there are others, and we know that these others are just like ourselves. To ignore or deny this is simply to deny one's humanity.

The next time you are trying to make a point, or simply pointing something out, or even merely pointing at something, you may want to keep your uniqueness in mind. Now you know, and knowledge, as it is also well known, obligates.

References
Tallis, Raymond (2011) Michelangelo's Finger: An exploration of everyday transcendence, New York, Atlantic Books.