There IS another way
The market for someone or something to believe in is hotter now than ever in my lifetime. We are in desperate search for someone to follow ... someone to tell us what is "right" or "good."
This Pied Piper mentality is exactly what people are looking to prey upon. Just look at the latest Facebook hoax. "Copy and paste this message to everyone in your address book. You've been hacked!" Did anyone stop to wonder if they, in fact, have gotten any bogus friend requests from people who are already their friends? They seem to just obey without investigating for themselves.
We are turning into "Sheeple." The urban dictionary definition for this is People unable to think for themselves. Followers. Lemmings. Those with no cognitive abilities of their own.
It seems many of us don't think anymore. We are being programmed, and forces and powers stronger than many of us in the world of marketing and promotions are having a heyday.
Just look at our political ads. The vast majority (I don't have a statistic, this is just from my observation) are anti-other candidate messages. I've heard others say this is because it's what "works." It plays into our subconscious conditioning and causes us to believe that we couldn't possibly be able to think for ourselves about what we DO desire. We've been told for generations not HOW to think, but WHAT to think, and it's playing out in so many aspects of our lives right now without our even realizing it.
Enlightenment happens when the light dawns and we choose not to go back to the way we were before. Transformation has that same effect. Since many of us are choosing to stay in the dark, I wonder if true transformation or enlightenment has happened to us or whether we are standing strong in our own righteousness instead.
I don't have the answers. I'm just curious about the questions. What is so fearful about thinking for ourselves? About discerning and calling in a Higher Power to assist us? Why do we think that some people have the ability to tap into Higher Wisdom but others don't? If you've been anointed or appointed or elected, it seems, then you have the power, otherwise you are destined to be a follower. A Sheeple. Is that really true? Could there be another perspective? Is it necessary to have a position or a title to be granted permission to be the one who tells everyone else what to do?
As it relates to our dogged loyalty to some unknown someone on Facebook who tells everyone else to tell everyone else without even checking the source, where did that come from? Who has that much authority that others will blindly follow without even thinking?
C'mon people. Let's be PEOPLE and not SHEEPLE. Let's THINK and EXPLORE and CONVERSE and DIALOGUE and LEARN and GROW. We don't all have to agree - in fact, it's richer when we don't. That's how we learn. And it's much easier to connect at the outset than to pick up the pieces after we allow ourselves to be duped. Remember The Emperor's New Clothes? The emperor is naked. Don't be the emperor. And don't be the swindling fabric salesman either. Be the little boy who saw the truth and called it.
I firmly believe we are smarter than we are demonstrating right now. All of us - even those who are trying to convince others that they are RIGHT and the other "side" is WRONG.
What if there's another way? There is. Let's find it. Together.