Our county fair has been canceled due to Covid. As unsurprising as it was for me to see that post on my Facebook news feed, what startled me was the level of anger people were expressing. Comment after comment was posted, stating contempt towards the "sheep" that are going along with it. Some people think that social distancing is unAmerican. Others think that it's a sign of weakness not to raise our voices and scream about the injustice of it. Overall, it looks like we have a protest on our hands.
If you want to be angry, that's your right. However, I will not have you looking down those of us who are of a different stance. I'll have you know that I'm very used to taking the "controversial" stand for a number of different things. From having stood on both sides of the fence, I can tell you that the question of taking the "accepted" or "controversial" stance isn't a decision of "should I be a sheep or not?" but a question of, "Which flock of sheep am I following?"
I'm sure that your first reaction is to feel defensive. Pause to really think about my previous statement for a moment. Are you really being original by resisting the "accepted" stance? This entire situation reminds me of the irony that in high school "rebellious" kids who are trying to assert their individuality using a predictable set of behaviors: acting disrespectful, dying their hair, getting piercings, and doing all the thing adults around them tell them not to. These behaviors were never about separating from the crowd - it's always been a desperate scramble to join a different one. If you're being honest with yourself, haven't you found yourself taking in the opinions of your preferred flock without stopping to weigh if those opinions are objective or biased? Haven't you sometimes found yourself swept up in a pattern of mimicking those around you to fit in with your preferred flock?
The question has never been, "Am I a sheep, or not a sheep?" It seems to me that every single human being is programmed to follow others, at least to some extent, and I do not pretend that I'm exempt from this inherent trait. The real question is, "Am I certain I want to go where this crowd is taking me?"
It has often alarms me just how often people will assume their own opinion is the only correct one, without pausing to wonder if they have a reason to be biased. Startlingly few people seem to slow down to ask themselves, "Do I really believe this, or am I assuming it to be true because someone else told me it was fact?" Other important questions include, "Is there a more productive way to stand up for what I believe is right?" "Am I solving a problem or adding to it with the way I'm behaving?" and, "Is it possible I'm mistaken?" It's refusing to ask yourself these questions that cause you to give your freedom away, more than following one flock of human "sheep" or the other. Need I remind you, we are all sheep. It's unavoidable that we find ourselves following some group or a rather. What's not unavoidable is our finding ourselves in place we don't want to be, simply because we never stopped to take a look at where we're heading, and moving on to another flock if necessary.
As for controversial stances, I'll respect your opinion if you respect mine.
