Just One Person

Tanmay Vora, a wise person and fellow blogger, thinks the poem "The Indispensable Man" is beautiful.

I respectfully and strongly disagree. A hand in a bucket of water does not begin to resemble the complexity of an individual or that person's effect upon others. You can refill vacancies but you never replace people. Individuals are unique combinations of talent and, in some circumstances, that combination is crucial. 

To take an example from history: In 1940 Winston Churchill was an irreplaceable leader due to his insight, experience. and courage. Had he not become prime minister of Great Britain at that time, it is entirely possible that Hitler would have won the war. 

I understand the poem also encourages humility and that is admirable but it misses a much larger point. One person can make a gigantic difference and there aren't always alternative candidates who could come close to that performance. 

One person speaks up, one person opposes an injustice, one person breaks through the groupthink, one person proposes a new approach. 

Just one person and the world begins to change.