More alike than different

Darryl Dash has been writing lately about the validity of categories. In one post, he offers these thoughts on categories and rampant individualism:

I have a hunch that even though we've identified this as a problem, we are part of that problem in ways we aren't even aware of. For instance, isn't our resistance to being categorized as part of a larger group a form of individualism, in which we assert that we are utterly unique and can't be lumped in with anyone else? It's not a surprise that we believe this, since many of us have been taught this from birth. But it's not true, and it's also a little arrogant. If we are going to move away from individualism, we also need to recognize that we are not utterly unique. Like it or not, we're part of larger groups, and we're a lot [more] alike than we like to think.

Indeed. I recommend Darryl's whole article.