Article January 16, 1960 Issue

Signs of the Times

with contributions from Frederick W. Brink, David Browne Pearson

Chaplain (Cdr.) Frederick W. Brink in The Link Washington, District of Columbia

Every normal man has the desire to be important ... to feel that as an individual he has significance. He wants people to know who he is and what he can do. But when he puts on a uniform he suddenly finds that he has become almost anonymous. He turns into a statistic, a serial number, one of many in exactly the same category as himself. Individuality seems to be frowned upon. He is supposed to conform to blanket regulations. ... He finds himself becoming frustrated because he has lost the assurance that he still does matter in life, that as an individual he still has worth, that ... he is still important.

Right here is where the business of being a Christian enters the picture. The importance of the individual is one of the most distinctive elements in the life and teaching of Christ and in the program of Christianity. Christ was never too tired or too busy to listen to some insignificant person.

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