Group Mentality

I just finished watching "An Unreasonable Man" the documentary about Ralph Nader and it got me all fired up about politics again (and it made me really dislike movie maker Michael Moore). i recognize that if I wasn't a Nader fan at the start, I would just have passed the documentary off as Nader propaganda--but how can you ignore what this man has done and accomplished in his life. How can you ignore the irony of the "Change" chants of todays presidential race in light of Nader's campaign? Here is a man that was talking Global Climate change in the 2000 election. Here was a man who was talking about corrupt lending practices in the mortgage industry in the 2000 election! To what country do I have to move in order to get a man like Nader as the leader? He is criticized for being ego-centric--seriously what politician isn't? Here is the man who brought us consumer protection--who brought us air bags--and what will he be remembered for??? "Spoiling" the election for Al Gore. Al Gore who uses other people's work in his own documentary and is hailed as a hero. Are we forever going to be slaves of the media? Sadly, the answer is --most likely.

Lets talk about Michael Moore for a second--the "crusader" against injustice. "The Unreasonable Man" shows clips of Moore in the 2000 election touring with Nader and raging on about how the lesser of two evils is still evil. And then in 2004 saying how Nader just needs to go away and how it was all his fault that Bush was in the whitehouse. What principles are you standing on exactly, Mr Moore? The Sewer Rat policy of abandoning ship when times get tough? Yeah, its ok to regret decisions you've made in the past--but at least own up to them. Don't bow down to the group mentality of blaming Nader.

This whole group mentality thing has been on my mind lately as well. The political troubles in Kenya have continued to plague my thoughts. Its amazing how much more we are affected when we have an emotional relationship to a place. I know what's happening in Darfur is terrible and tragic--but I've never been there. I've never met the people there--so I have to admit to not being as affected by that crisis. It's sad--but true. Anyway, Isaac and I were discussing the crisis in Kenya and I was saying how I felt that this ability to turn on our neighbors and brutalize them--must be an instinct in all of us. There are so many instances of this happening--in so many different situations. It's a really frightening thought. Even if its not physical violence--we all have that instinct to exert power over another to our benefit. Some of us can fairly successfully control it--but I feel that there might be a trigger in all of us that makes us snap. Isaac had an interesting theory related to this idea of the group rather than the self. He felt that once you can claim membership in a group--rather than acting as an individual--you can justify doing unspeakable things. People have done it on behalf of religion, tribe, ethnicity, political beliefs. It something I would like to flesh out a bit in the future--but I got to thinking about this with Michael Moore.

As long as the group of Liberal Democrats got together to blame Nader for stealing the presidency--it was ok for someone like Moore to be a hypocrit. As long as I'm not alone, I can justify. My membership in this group makes it ok. Because I'm a woman, I can justify voting for Hillary Clinton even though I don't agree with her--its much easier to just be part of a group than to actually think for myself. My political leader tells me the election was stolen--therefore I can turn against my neighbors and friends and stone them to death--I am acting on behalf of a group now. Very disturbing.