Reading the book One L by Scott Turow, I found an interesting passage that expresses human nature's constant conflict between the desire to achieve our full potential free of any social expectations and the necessity to avoid being "too awesome" because of our interconnectedness with others, and how our success/awesomeness may negatively impact them. And yes, even law school students, despite the intense competition among their ranks, may also relinquish their competiteness for the greater good in some classroom situations, according to this book. It's both sad and heartening to know that some of us have this engrained disposition to set in motion our own failure (even though we know we can do better) in order to appease others who may not be enjoying the same privileges we are due to the ways in which various inequities have affected all of us and our relationships with one another. So, we fall because our connection to others becomes more important to sustain than our own advancement, which may possibly be, both, an act of solidarity and self-destruction.
