David Brooks on What Drives History

David Brooks reflects on the life and death of Bin Laden. I found the article very interesting, as it pointed out some aspects of the individuality of Bin Laden. We often forget that great actors in history, including some of the most despicable, are human, all too human. Brooks also uses this occasion to demonstrate how individuals, with all of our quirks and individuality, can make a huge difference in history, for good or ill. This is one of the things that makes history so fascinating. Yes, in my year of Big History, I've been looking at the big trends, like economic change, demographics, technology, and so on; yet, individuals in the midst of all of this change, still count, still make crucial differences.