Evolution of Individualism
By Brian Wallace

What led you to the place where you needed to address man as an individual? How do you see that playing out in your life today?

I think that growing up within a capitalist society that has as one of its primary notions the idea of the individual, the power and the personal achievement of an individual upon his environment, within his business, an individual apart from the world acting upon the world; I think that, over the course of time, I started to develop more of a perspective that we are manifestations of that world that we were previously acting upon, and as opposed to being an inanimate or abstract world, it's very much the world that is integral to out existence. The oxygen we breathe, all of our perceptual senses; so much of what we are as human beings is inextricably bound up with the world around us that we traditionally refer to as nature, as apart from us.

Now, that being said, we are definitely separate organisms from other organisms and from other objects around us. I think that there is an element of multiplicity, there's an element of unity, and I don't think that they're disparate or necessarily so different, they're just two different aspects of what's happening within the universe. I think that, as an individual, within my development, my goal has been to try to find a way of contributing to the productivity, to the striving, to the concept of striving as an individual, but also being respectful and cognizant of the world around me and the individuals around me and the universal life process that is occurring at every second of every day.

I think that more individuals need to start developing somewhat of a balance between individual pursuits, capitalistic ventures, achievement, striving to attain individual goals and develop more of a consciousness of awareness of others and concern for the planet.

I think that part of developing the mindset that all are one, somewhat of an inseparable whole; can go a great length toward rectifying some of the current problems that exist.

One thing that really triggered my consciousness on this matter is the idea that the world is polluted. We are polluting our rivers and lakes and the air and when you step outside in a modern day American city and you're looking at thick brown air that can kill a bird in flight, that can cause agitation to the elderly and to children, then I think even the hardest-core capitalist and die-hard GOP traditional mindset person would have to start questioning and wondering what's going on.

There's got to be a balance between progress and spiritual fulfillment and higher consciousness. I think that's being played out today in a city like Houston, Texas that traditionally has been administered and run by traditional conservative politicians and leaders and even they are now starting to realize that the over-industrialization of that land is causing significant health problems to them and their families. It has been a significant waking to attention or awareness that, no, there is a cost to be paid for too much progress, for too much industrialization. There must be an awareness that we have to strike a balance between ourselves and nature, and I think that part of developing the mindset that all is one, somewhat of an inseparable whole, can go a great length toward rectifying some of the current problems that exist.

Being a writer, one of my goals is to promulgate the notion that individuals should question certain entities, certain authoritative figures, certain ways of existence that have just been the norm. As a writer, I try to encourage people to read as much as they can within intellectually stimulating works, to not waste their time with popular media 100 percent of the time. I think it's important to just go out and seek esoteric works, works that are outside the mainstream. If someone were currently going to college, I would encourage them to find authors and thinkers and philosophers that are doing or have done works that are outside the mainstream and perhaps on the more cutting edge of things.

A lot of people, I think, inundate themselves with forms of media that simply pacify and simply entertain. One of the goals that I have as a writer is to find an entertaining way to tell a story that also, perhaps, could be educational to the reader and give them more food for thought so that they can be encouraged to go out and seek other authors and other thinkers that are in line with the types of thinking that they want to develop, and that are in line with the theories that they're starting to entertain for themselves.

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