Marshall McLuhan rightly observed that the invention of the phonetic alphabet (and by extension written literature) enabled the individual to escape the collective tribal experience to read and internalize experiences on their own. This gave rise to the sense of individual self upon which Western civilization is built.

Intended or not, this sense of individual self is under full scale attack, especially by digital platforms, which if we don’t preserve our sense of self, we’ll lose what has been built over the last 2500 years.

If you don’t agree, that’s ok; at least I know where you stand.