Individuality

Some time ago I had a conversation with an Indonesian friend. We talked a bit about individualism in western culture. Of course, being a typical Indonesian he immediately jumped to conclusion 'individualism is bad'.
I asked why it is so bad. He said because people will ignore others and not willing to help each other, less communication, etc etc...

Is that really the case?
HELL NO.

You see, Individualism is not the same as Egotism. Being individual means that you are able to take care of yourself, mind your own business, and respect other's privacy.
Does that stop you from communicating and helping others?
NO.

In fact, I found that most Australians are more considerate than Indonesians. How do I know? Easy, just listen to everyday's conversation and you'll notice that these words are spoken the most: Thank you, Please, Excuse me, Sorry, How are you, Have a good day, so on...
Stand on the side of a street and count how many times drivers use their horn. I was surprised when I noticed no one really use their car's horn even if it's a very busy road.
Small, kind gestures are common in here, such as helping a mom carry her pram down the stairs, asking someone if they are queuing or not, opening doors for someone else, etc etc...

So if you are one of those people saying that individualism is bad, you should go take a closer look.
Saying things that you don't know about just make you look stupid.

But then again stupid is the new trend... so yeah..