HEARD MENTALITY
Tuesday, November 3, 2020
What have you heard lately?
If we could only change one thing that is important to us for the rest of our lives, what would it be?
In my treasure file, buried in a drawer somewhere, I have a cartoon – showing two Holstein cows at a sign-post, with arrows pointed in opposite directions labeled: HERD and FREE THINKERS.
I couldn’t find that file, so I went looking on-line and pasted it here:
Lots of funny stuff lately in U.S. politics about the herd – perhaps you heard, particularly each time Trump spouts off about herd immunity. In a recent interview, it was clear he meant to say herd immunity, but he said herd mentality instead. It was hilarious, and every late-night comedy show picked up on it.
I like funny, and I love puns, but what we’ve heard too much of lately is positively mental.
Too often lately, our media report herd news that has nothing to do with ranching ~ instead, we hear reports of herd hatred, herd racism, herd stupidity, herd irrational behavior, and we’ve heard it all too many times before.
Sometimes it’s all too ridiculous to have a serious discussion about, but then we remember how serious it all is, and we try to have a thoughtful conversation.
On so many things in many countries, there has been a percolating polarity, which is dangerous, where people see everything as a two-way issue: their way and the wrong way. On most denouements in life, there are many ways to see nearly every situation – your way, my way, some other way – some are theoretical, and some are horribly horrible.
A civilized society shouldn’t have hatred running around rampant – there is nothing but destruction inside it. I am intolerant of intolerance.
We can control or put energy into only so many things – and that changes from time to time as our focus changes. My focus is best when concentrated on fewer things, but sometimes I realize too many of those are really minor, unimportant things.
We cannot think about or change many things.
If we could only change one thing that is important to us for the rest of our lives, what would it be?
Are we following the herd, or are we free thinkers?
What are we waiting for?
Waking up to a realization, of anything, is not about the ‘thing’ as much as is ‘the waking up’ part.
Realizing something we haven’t been able to face, or that we are in denial-mode about, is arduous beyond words.
We aren’t prepared to see what someone else might easily observe, not because we are blind but because we are in willful denial of something obvious.
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