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Letter to the Editor
April 20, 2007
Should Koreans share in Seung-Hui Cho’s guilt?
Koreans should not feel guilty or be held responsible for Seung-Hui
Cho’s actions simply because they share his nationality or
race. To do so would be to accept the vicious doctrine of
collectivism.
Collectivism holds that only groups truly exist, such as races,
nationalities, economic classes, tribes, etc. Individuals,
this view holds, are not fully real and are merely interlocked parts
of the group, powerless to think and act independently. Only
groups think and act, according to collectivism. This means
that an individual’s actions are not his or her own, but are
the actions of a group.
In contrast to collectivism, individualism
recognizes the truth that each person is, in fact, an individual
and not simply a feeble part of a group. Individualism recognizes
that each person has free will, his own mind and the capacity to
think and act independently. This means that each person is
ultimately self-responsible and the master of his or her own destiny.
Whatever greatness or horror an individual may achieve is ultimately
his doing -- and his alone. Others who by chance share his
race, nationality, etc. do not deserve to take part in the credit
or blame.
Individualism, therefore, demands that Cho’s ghastly act belongs
to Cho -- and not to Koreans.
©
2007 Western Culture Global
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