Just to be clear: I wasn't trying to "convert" you to my own religion or demand that you believe otherwise. If atheism makes the most sense to you, then that's your worldview -- and no one can take that away from you. That doesn't mean your worldview (lack of faith in the supernatural) gets to supersede the beliefs of all religious faiths out there, as some objective fact.

It sounds as though you and I have similar beliefs when it comes to individualism, but maybe different ways in which we each define it? What you said -- "individual expression and one's own personal decision-making" -- *IS* my own core definition of (what I consider to be) individualism. I don't believe individualism should be used as a facade to HARM others, nor do I want to see it abused as a cloak behind which to continue neglecting/rationalizing society's macroscopic problems.

Conceptually, I agree with your principle that the size of government will inevitably have to grow in proportion with addressing more of society's needs. What I reject is the straw man (usually posed by conservatives and libertarians) that all government growth is somehow inherently unnecessary or poisonous. I believe in evaluating government growth on a case-by-case basis (yes, that annoying "individualist" in me), and paying more attention to the veracity of a governmental service's structure -- as opposed to the size per se of a governmental entity itself.