Ever notice how the cows all face the same direction in the pasture, but there is one that didn’t seem to get the memo and is separate from the herd doing his own thing? That’s me.
I dislike housing tracts where the nearly identical a dwellings are crammed in close to each other so as to maximize the developer’s profits. Not for me! Cube farms in the corporate headquarters. Not for me. Dressed up businessmen at a restaurant trying to impress each other. Not for me. Excursions on a horizontal skyscraper called a cruise ship that serves as incubator for the rapid spread of communicable diseases. Not for me. Bus tours. Not for me. An automated, de-humanized approach to customer service. Definitely, not for me. The DMV where the line begins outside the building. Well, no one likes that!
These settings are just not for me. I can adapt, but I probably won’t flourish in a herd environment. I am not a loner and love being around people, but I feel that I need minimal direction and some room to be creative.
This in not necessarily a plus. I admire people who are more tolerable of these societal structures. For me, it just lets the air out of my tires.
Once somebody that I respected called me a rebel. I never thought of myself as such at the time. I was simply trying to follow my conscience, even when I was going against the flow. But I do have a tendency to notice injustice and ways things need to be improved.
I find the herd culture de-humanizing and de-moralizing. They are ways to make more money and treat people with less dignity and compassion. People are more important than money, systems, and efficiency. If we can’t treat people with dignity and respect, then we have issues.
That’s my feeling about “the system” and “the man.”
On an individual basis it is okay to be tolerant of the herd mentally. It’s necessary for millions of people’s livelihoods. But, if you find you are not a herd animal, that’s okay, too.
“Livestock60.tif” by NRCS Montana is licensed under CC PDM 1.0
