Another very good piece, Joe! I wrote something a while back about the faux notion of the alpha male, and how in the wolf world, on which this term is ostensibly based, the alpha male and alpha female are actually just the breeding pair for the pack. Sometimes the alpha female is the ultimate pack leader. The alpha male is simply the daddy, who spends a lot of his time taking care of his mate and his pack (offspring).

I also frequently talk to (nearly always) men who can only view themselves as individuals (rather than also a part of a society) and who allow for no other perspective other the one they have honed for Self. It makes it difficult to grapple with societal issues when one has no buy-in to yourself as a member of a society.