Sometimes it's Okay to Follow the Heard

Hey Bean, It's your Dad,

Been trying to think of what words of wisdom I wanted to pass on today. I feel like the last couple of posts have been a bit uninspired and I wanted to think of something that you haven't really heard me talk about before. That's why I am talking about how it's okay to follow the herd once in a while. I know that I have preached about going your own way, being your own person, and those are good things. However, there are times when following the herd is not only an acceptable option but a preferable one.

I don't know if you remember this, but one of the times I was driving you home from Governer's institute, there was a massive snowstorm hitting just as we left for home. As we moved along the road we started slowing down and eventually were with all the other cars on the road. The reason this was a good thing was that we were all acting in a way to ensure that everyone else would be safe as well. If you remember there was that one idiot who decided to suddenly pull out of a lane and that forced a person off the road. If that driver hadn't suddenly pulled into the lane the other driver would have not been forced off the road. This is a case where someone insisting that their individuality was more important than following the herd created a situation that was bad for more than just themselves.

Right now in the world, there is a lot of that kind of thing going on. You can log onto most any social media site and find it, people who think that their want for individual treatment allows for the mistreatment of other people. This is something that we need less of in this world, not more of. The truth is that no one should ever value their freedom above being a respectful person, but there will always be those kinds of people. They will use all kinds of excuses for their behavior. It's a lot of what racism and other such horrid ideals are about, excusing poor behavior.

Don't let yourself become someone like that Bean. Don't ever buy into the lie that you have a right to mistreat people when they are in the way of your freedom. There will be times someone is legitimately trying to take freedom away from you, and you should fight that oppression. However, being asked to show other people respect, being a productive member of society, and other things people will tell you is about "following the herd" is not taking away your freedom, it is a benefit to you and everyone else.

The herd kind of gets a bad wrap at times. Most people associate the herd with stupidity or mindlessness. It's true that herds can be a bit mindless but there is a reason we have a herd instinct. Humans need each other. A single human by themselves can do amazing things, but to do the truly epic things that we do, it needs more than one person. You are learning how to build houses and I am sure you realize that having several people work on a house gets it built a lot faster than having a single person working on a house.

It's not just about building stuff either, almost every major discovery in the history of mankind was the result of people building off of what other people had already done. Einstein wouldn't have been Einstien if there hadn't had already been a long line of physicists paving the way for him. This isn't to take away from individual genius. Sure, lots of people did things with physics before Einstien, but what Einstien did change the science in many different ways. People need other people period. We as a species are best when we work with each other.

Can you take following the herd too far? Yes, in fact, if you look at the current political landscape in our country right now you can see where the herd mentality is taking over. it doesn't matter if you are on the right or left of politics, both sides have allowed groupthink and herd mentality to take over and it's making them scary. They don't allow descent of opinion and they are taking steps to "purify" the ranks. Eventually, we could see it erupt into an actual war right in front of our eyes between two groups of people who are screaming that they are doing it for "freedom" when the exact opposite is true.

The herd never wants freedom. Its very existence depends on some degree of homogeny. If you get a  herd that doesn't have enough sameness it will eventually split into different herds. It's animal nature, it's necessary for the continuation of certain genes, it's part of the ever-changing definition of humanity. So while it's okay to follow the herd, never forget that the herd is not about individuality. It can't be, if you have too much individuality in a herd it isn't a herd.

The real trick is going to be figuring out when to follow the herd and when you shouldn't follow the herd. I kind of go with the following rule of thumb. If the herd is providing more benefit than it's causing harm to me, then it's generally okay to follow the herd unless the actions of the herd are causing more harm than I deem acceptable. In other words, I go with what other people want as long as I get something out of it as long as I don't see it hurting anyone. You will find your balance I am sure.

Well Bean, think I am going to call this post done. I hope you enjoyed reading it and I hope it gave you something to think about. Keep in mind these are just the ramblings of a middle aged man who wants to impress his daughter with awe inspiring wisdom and I would appreciate if you pretended I did exactly that.

I love you Bean,

Dad