"One of"

This is just a thought that randomly came to me as I was trying to lie down and get some rest, and seeing as how I can't seem to find sleep, I feel like writing would help a little bit.

Now, this thought really came to mind when I was speaking with one of my friends, and she stated that I was "one of" the people she contacted first about this whole unrelated event thing. Now, there's nothing against her, I'm just saying the idea spawned from that.

But when you think of "one of" when associated with a subject, it almost as feels as if that thing has lost power. Compare the two sentences below:
A) Joe Smith is one of the most dangerous people in America.
B) Joe Smith is the most dangerous person in America.

Now that's just a silly example, but the second sentence holds more power. While Joe was already associated with being dangerous before, the second makes him scarier, makes him more threatening, more powerful. One of simply adds in a factor of numbers, meaning that he's just part of this group of dangerous group of people. It's not known if he really is the most dangerous person, but he happens to be.

It's just like best friends. Remember those times when you couldn't decide on who your best friend was/is? I still have that problem today. It's not that I try to rank my friends with how much I like them, but I am blessed to have many people in my life that I can bring up to that level, and I guess I can say that each holds some level of importance in my life. If I talk about a best friend of mine, I can call them "one of" the most important people in my life. It's less satisfying to hear, but it still puts them in a group of importance.

It's just like how people can say they have favorites. It's weird, but I don't think I've ever really been called someone's favorite person. Maybe that's just some sort of position that's only attainable to a spouse, or just a loved one in general. I certainly don't think I've heard anybody say that to me. Sure, "favorite son" (followed by "I'm your only son") or something, but definitely not favorite person. I've been thrown into that "one of" group by quite a number of people. I guess I don't mind, but it does leave me thinking. Who knows. I just wish some day I'd have someone that I can call my favorite person and vice versa.