Following the Crowd

Photo by Nicholas Green on Unsplash

There’s something comforting about fitting in with the people around us. 

There’s also a very real danger that comes with losing our individual identity in the crowd.

Scottish author Charles Mackay warned:

“Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, one by one.”

This is not an excuse to develop a phobia of crowds or public places.

It’s a powerful insight into what happens when we begin to surrender our decision-making to outsiders.

Paul Rosenberg clarified this tendency when he noted:

“Conscience is individual, social is collective, and the two are at odds. Likewise, sanity is individual and mania is collective.”

This means that the best in society starts with what we are as individuals.

Anyone who has witnessed what happens when a crowd gets thoroughly worked up and starts chanting can appreciate the danger that can follow.

Following the crowd rarely makes us a better individual.

This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t find and associate with like-minded fellow travelers throughout life’s journey. 

But the greatest means of cultivating and maintaining civilized behavior begins with what’s in each individual heart.

If we identify too closely with the crowd, we may find it difficult to separate ourselves from it when it transforms into a mob.

Joining the crowd too often requires setting aside our conscience, our dignity and our reason.