-or- An inherent human urge?
I have noticed forum posts about folk's points here. I see my own (rather paltry) rank, and others with more entries than I can shake a stick at and points coming out the wazoo. There is a scoring system in place here, other forums give posters different "user levels", post counts keep track of how much we have to say (or how full of crap we are, as it may be). It would appear we are addicted to stratification.
We see it every where we go. The government does it all the time, placing us in socio-economic classes, education level classes, racial groups, even stratifying us based on our sexual preference. It is an integral part of every business organization. Educational systems are based around the idea of stratification. And even here, on the internet, the "champion" of free exchange of ideas and anonymity, we still feel the need to assign rankings to each other in order to allow us to be easily placed into little boxes for convenient storage.
Is this just some inherent human need, to have hierarchical organization wherever we go? I think so. Some would argue that it is necessary for order and that it improves efficiency. But how does it do that here? In a situation where words can and should be taken on their own merits we still feel the need to stack us in our own little stratum, so we know where we fit and remember there are folks above and below us.
And I think it is idiotic.
It all boils down to the fact the each and every one of us is looking out for number one. We all want to have that spot, to assert our dominance over those below us, to see the world from our pinnacle. Animal groups have the alpha male as it were, and humans are no different. We need to be on top, and we long to have someone up there to whom we can look. When will we learn that strength comes not from looking up and down, but from reaching out to the side, taking the hand of the person next to you, and moving forward together?
Someday I hope. But not today. Not as long as we all feel the need to prove we are better than the other few hundreds of folks who we rub electrical shoulders with on a daily basis.
Perhaps I wouldn't be writing this if I were up there in that top spot though.