Scottish author Charles Mackey wisely observed:
“Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one.”
That pretty well describes what happens to us during an election year.
Our current political contests are a fascinating study in group-think, compulsory consensus and Machiavellian tactics.
It’s easy to get lost amid the flash and fervor that drives the quest for political power.
Like an extremely well-financed high school pep rally, our elections are saturated with a desperate need to affirm our team’s infallibility and to vanquish our designated foes.
The appearance of party unity is valued far above any individual commitment to truth or light.
The sense of crisis, fear and urgency drowns out the pleas for reason and principle.
Most people seem to be much better at rejecting evil in hindsight.
As Connor Boyack explains:
“We revile the despots of world history, and we recognize their tyranny quite readily. But few are able to apply such scrutiny in the present and thereby tolerate or support the very violations they claim to detest.”
When we hyper-fixate on the personalities rather than principles, we can develop a cult-like attachment to agendas without concern for moral truth.
This is why it’s essential that we understand and live up to our deepest principles rather than discard them for a perceived short-term political gain.
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