People watching means you’ll get a short peek into a litany of intricate lives, all around the long stretch of Comm. Ave., the state of Massachusetts and the rest of the world. Suddenly, the feeling of being minuscule and nearly insignificant falls on you, and it reinforces every little thought that you’re just another human figuring out how to live your life. But it poses the questions: How unique is your life? If everyone else has their own life, what makes yours so interesting?

It's the mindset of American individualism that makes anti-union propaganda so effective in this country.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating on many fronts, it has hopefully compelled people to be more mindful about their individual choices and impacts. This newfound urgency and self-agency can help us make inroads in solving other pressing issues.

American individualism runs deep — pull yourself up by the bootstraps and move on. This mindset fails us.