The Mob Mentality

I recently came across an essay broadcast on the Bob Edwards week-end radio program.   It is part of his "This I Believe" series and it put my thoughts into words very nicely.   The essay is about why the author doesn't participate in demonstrations and marches - mostly because she doesn't feel her opinions are more valid than anyone else's opinions.   I've blogged about this a bit (10/17/10, 8/24/10) regarding the flood of solicitations I received for political donations for far-away elections.  I said I was uncomfortable with the notion that "people around the country think they know what's best for other people around the country."  This discomfort is present even if I happen to agree with the candidate or group.

The author starts off by describing how she is uncomfortable about participating in a peace march in Washington, D.C.:

But the thing that made me uneasy wasn’t just the number of people gathered there. It was the mob mentality of a large group of people who feel they are right, even if I agree with them. It was the absolutism lurking in the liberal ideals. To me it felt just as scary as any other kind of intolerance

Anyway, the essay can be found here and it's worth reading or listening to the podcast.