jpmac, I think any individual is much more (or ideally, should be much more) than any institution or group with which he may be affiliated.
Mr. X, for example, may be a registered Republican, a Catholic, the editor of a scientific journal, and a volunteer for a local environmental organization. He does not have four separate identities; all these functions, plus his roles in private life (as husband, father, son, whatever), plus the essential nature of his being, all blend into a single identity. Sometimes one aspect of his identity may come into conflict with other aspects: he may be torn between his party's position on something and his Church's position on the same issue, for example. But he does not lose his own identity when that happens.
Gee, that's a long-winded answer to a simple question. <gg> I guess the simple answer would be that you should not need to pick a particular bandana color to know who you are. That would be to define yourself by externalities alone.
jbe |
