By Tom Remington
I contend that there is no greater strength and power than that of combined individualism and independence. Most of all the greatest accomplishments of men came from those true individuals allowed to carry out their independent thoughts. Governments, on the other hand, thrive in the collective where manipulative actions toward the people are necessary in order to maintain the masses into a near hypnotic state of silent acquiescence, stripping them of any sort of power to push back against the governments that threaten them.
Imagine how things would be if the majority of people were a collection of true individuals and independent thinkers. What power would lie in their hands? Can a collective exist of independents? In theory, yes! Governments and those who promote governmental collectivism must fear the thought for it threatens their very existence. Sounds like war to me.
Perhaps the greatest example of the power and strength of individualism can be found in Bible history. We may have head knowledge of the existence of Yahweh’s “Church,” but do we truly understand its composition? Some would argue that the congregations of churches, making up the “Church,” is similar to the collective existence of governments. This may be true in some cases, but the true Church of Christ is made up of real individuals, each with their independent, spirit-filled relationship with their Savior. There can be no other everlasting existence even though so many are caught up in the collective of the church instead of the individual salvation of their Savior.
It is a rare commodity these days to find actual individuals with independent thoughts and ideas. Media so heavily influences and controls us that it seems impossible to escape the onslaught. Life in the United States exists between two enemy collectives – Republican and Democrat. Absent independent thought, each person eventually acquiesces to one side or the other, eager to become automatonic True Believers, participants in each party’s form of Romanistic Bread and Circuses.
If it’s not the false paradigm of Republican and Democrat, groups and mass movements are countless within our society, each bent on achieving their selfish agendas at the expense of ostracising anyone and everyone who doesn’t eagerly conform to their dogma.
Remembering that the collective can only exist by controlling the minds and thoughts of the masses, we see the need for groups and movements to make enemies out of those who don’t conform. I’m reminded of the Star Trek enemy of the United Starship Federation – The Borg. The Borg, a combination of human and robot, is a collective. They call themselves the Collective. None have independent thought. On the contrary, they all share their thoughts in a continual bombardment of back and forth, never-ending, noise. One of the missions of the Borg is to “assimilate” anyone who is not like them. To “assimilate,” people are turned into half human, half robot creatures who almost never stray from the collective as it would mean certain death. Are the Borg that much unlike what we are seeing today with our collectives in American Society?
Eric Hoffer, the author of “The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements,” writes: “The permanent misfits can find salvation only in a complete separation from the self; and they usually find it by losing themselves in the compact collectivity of a mass movement.”
He also states: “The quality of ideas seems to play a minor role in mass movement leadership. What counts is the arrogant gesture, the complete disregard of the opinion of others, the singlehanded defiance of the world.”
As I have repeatedly stated, collectives can only exist absent the individual with independent thoughts and ideas. To ensure that absence, Hoffer says that what must exist within the collective, “is the arrogant gesture, the complete disregard of the opinion of others, the singlehanded defiance of the world.”
This exists everywhere!!!
From the outside of each collective looking in, most often “quality of ideas” is missing. It is replaced by the importance of “sticking together” and “remaining united” while echoing the propaganda crafted by the collective – a real “defiance of the world.”
Straying from, or at least presenting independent thought and individualism, within a collective, in our society, often does not end in death to that brave soul truth seeker, but they are truly ostracised, kicked out of the gang for failure to assimilate and remain the robotic servant it is intended for them to be, thus removing any hope of achieving another of man’s great accomplishments.
Perhaps you, too, have been a victim of being expelled from a collective. Being a part of a group for the purpose of educating and bringing to the forefront important and truthful information pertaining to the subject of that collective, is not a bad thing. Should one dare disagree with the collective, or present truth that might be contrary to the collective’s talking points, you are removed from further communication – essentially black-balled.
If the most important accomplishments of men have come from individuals with independent thoughts and the freedom to exercise their freedoms, why then is it that our society seems bent on ensuring that never happens. An independent thinker might wonder if this act isn’t part of the intentions of another collective, threatened by the existence of those of us who honestly cherish their individuality. To them, we must assimilate.
If we are so much assimilated into the myriad of collectives, how can we have any hope of individuality and independence?
And isn’t that the entire premise of which I am attempting to convey? Being in this state, it is a near impossibility, short a miracle, for anyone to recognize they have no real independence, no real freedom, and certainly no respect for being an individual other than the one dictated by the collective.
