I often ponder about the poisonous and insidious diatribe that is so prevalent in our society today. Every group has an agenda and assisted by statistics and data are able to influence and recruit the masses to jump on any bandwagon.

But not you, right? Certainly not me. We are the exception. We are the individual. That is what I would like to believe, but statistics and science unfortunately prove otherwise.

There exists at our fingertips a hoard of information that can determine the behavior of most any one. Given the dynamics, the variables, the components, your behavior and mine can be predicted pretty accurately and frankly is.

Our very nature is to be a member of a herd, a family, a group. Part of being with the herd is to protect the individual. The closer you are to the center the more likely you will not be lured away and devoured by predators. But there are costs as well as benefits for our societal connection. One of which is the risk of stampede. Being overrun with the groups core philosophy leaves few options for the individuality factor and ones own personal thoughts and opinions.

Add to our human herd nature an articulate and dynamic spokesperson and the powers that be will have the fringe herd members distracted by survival within the group while the inner circle remains protected. Before the dust settles the herd is blindly led to where a few may benefit at the expense of the rest.

We, as individuals, have access to the same information. We can use it to determine what “they” will do. Or maybe they have determined that is what is happening already. Careful, we may be led off a cliff.