My...Self?

I've been thinking a lot lately about individuality. I'm not certain that I've developed any concrete ideas about the subject, but I have noted a distinct shift towards support of community and the interconnectedness of us all.
That's not to say that I have suddenly become a social being; indeed, I am as actively pursuing courses that set me apart from others as ever. But, I am certainly formulating a theory that our (Americans) stubborn clinging to absolute self-reliance, against all evidence that we NEED one another, is a hopeless and ultimately vitiating meme.
How can we deny our reliance upon others for our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being? Is it not through our shared experience that we develop our greatest advances. No, not technological or medical advances, young simpleton. I speak, rather, of the advances that truly matter.... the advances, not merely in knowledge, but in the understanding of that knowledge; not merely in our discovery of our humanity, but in the profound implications and ramifications of that humanity.
I love being human! I hate being human! Our crimes sicken me! Our creations bring me to tears, as I glimpse in them the nature of God!