I'm Just Sayin'

"A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people's business."  Eric Hoffer

My initial intent was to simply post this quote....no comment, no discussion. I don't think I can do that. Eric Hoffer's comment  defines those people who I feel are a threat to the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. The do gooders, the sanctified, the anointed, the holier than thou, the moral exhibitionists...all those who think they have the best or most moral agenda for the rest of us, many times are only seeking to feel important. The most dangerous of these "I have all the answers prophets" are not the prophets themselves... of the various movements, churches, sects and  organizations, but the followers...the sheep...who are so anxious to become a part of a group so that they can assume the label or badge of a group effort, whatever that effort might be.

I love good quotes. Here is another one, by T.S. Elliot...."Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm-but the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves."  

The point I want to make is that the best decisions we can make for ourselves,  we can make by ourselves. If we can be honest with ourselves, and this is a major hurtle for most of us, we do not need to be followers. We do not need to seek to feel important by becoming a part of someone else's flock. Hitler was a powerful leader because he convinced a mass of people that he could better make decisions for them. He told those people what they wanted to hear. He didn't tell them the truth, but he didn't care and they didn't care...they wanted to believe that he would provide a better world for them. If those who followed Hitler, those who endorsed his agenda,  had been able to see the results of their allegiance to him, he would never had gained the power to cause the destruction that he caused.

We can avoid becoming a part of a lynch mob mentality, or flock of sheep mentality,  if we can begin to exercise our own decision making.  The first step is, as I have said, to be honest with ourselves, the second step...is to be honest with ourselves... OK I said that already, but this is the most important part of self awareness and positive self image. And once we have gained a positive self image, we will not need to bolster our self esteem by following  self proclaimed prophets or trying to determine how others should live.