Chapter 2: Influence

You know that old stereotype we have about the general American follower mentality? That we're all just sheep led by the herder called consumerism and society?

I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps we have this whole sheep mentality pegged wrong. Where does originality come from anyhow? Is anything ever of our own accord? Are we ever really thinking for ourselves? I don't think so. So much of who we are is about how the people around us have influenced us. Even when we think we've come to a decision on our own, odds are that idea had to have come from somewhere...

I definitely think that how we decide to process what we're given makes us individual...but I notice when I look around, we're almost all the same kind of people in any given society. Does liking yellow vs blue or chicken vs steak make us really all that different? Not really.

Does our political views make a real difference in our society? Not really? When was the last time your political views changed the face of how our government functions or what laws are passed or what wars we fight in or what countries we decide to aid?

I tend to judge people a lot on their religious and social views. But I guess if you really think about it, the issue probably isn't about how "mindless or ignorant" I feel their thinking is... What it really comes down..the only thing that really matters is how it effects how they treat other people around them.

Being influenced is okay. We all are influenced. The people around us help us define what we like and who we like. Co-workers define what products we like to buy, parents help define what we want to be, and friends can define what we like to do...etc

It's okay to be a product of influence...but how is that people can be okay being influenced to hate. But if it's a given that we're influenced by everything else, what stops us by being influenced badly? Nothing I guess.

I guess it's another proof that we're all just programmable biological bots. :)