One of the Masses

It occurred to me today that I am one of the masses.  We like to think of ourselves as independents who, faced with a moral crisis, would make the right decision.  For instance, slavery.  We all say, "Slavery is terrible.  Didn't people realize? Why didn't they do anything? If I were living in 1814, I would be absolutely outraged."  But the truth is that a lot of the people who owned slaves probably had at least a vague sense that it was wrong, too.  That's not the point.

I think if (in fact I would have been a slave, making this perhaps a bad comparison) I had lived in 1814, I wouldn't have done anything.  Had I been a white, affluent person in the South, I think I would have gone along with the flow, maybe even fought for my unjust way of life.  We are quietly aware of injustice in the world, but I don't think that most of us ever would have or will make a stand.  I don't think I will be a leader of the world, at the forefront showing others the error of their ways.  I'm aware of my error, but I rarely have the courage to stick my neck out.  I would follow rather than lead, no matter what I like to think when I'm reading history textbooks.

I embrace school spirit almost as quickly as anyone I know.  I get caught up in the war chants within days or weeks.  It is easy to ingrain in me the sense that my team is the best team in the universe, and the ref is not calling the game fairly to keep my team from winning and make the inferior team feel a little better.  "Get off your knees, ref.  You're blowin' the game!"  I like being a team player, and it doesn't bother me to be a lot like everyone else.

Political songs influence me.  I get swept up in the strength of the song "Fight the Power."  I love the songs that make me want to do battle, to march off into war against whatever the singer is protesting.  I like that they want more from me than I want from myself.  I'm to be one of the masses because I can't want that on my own, at least not in terms of being an activist.

I was sad at first, realizing this about myself.  I will probably end up the mild-mannered worker by day, slightly more obscene liver by night.  My destiny is probably not that of a superhero.  But I think it comes down to this: if you're not going to lead, it's still your responsibility to choose the right leader.  If you have to do some work to figure out who that is, do it.  Chosen ignorance is not an excuse for misdeeds.