The free are able to be themselves in communion

Above all, to be free, to be our self, we must detach ourselves from the crowd. The crowd is an animal begotten by hidden fears. It is full of aggression, held together by fears of what is not inside it. It becomes violent because of fear. The crowd always turns upon the free person because of its own fear of freedom. The problem for the free, however, is that this does not mean that we must assert our individuality to remain free. In fact crowds are first formed into non-being by the super-egoists who assert their individuality at any cost, at the cost of those around them. The free are able to be themselves in communion and do not need an impersonal collectivity to assert their otherwise insecure or envious ego. 

The Selfless Self by Laurence Freeman OSB