Bertrand RussellCollective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd.
About This Quote
Today’s world is dangerous. We live in an age where guns are more common than ever before, there seems to be people who can do no wrong, and the government has become the enemy of the people. It is not hard to see why people act out against our own best interest. It is not hard to see why people get caught up in mob mentality and think that they will be safe if they join together.
The problem is that collective fear does not just look at physical harm but it looks at the mental harm as well. The mob mentality that we see in our society is a direct result of a collective fear that was fostered by the media and the governments of the world. Our lack of caution when it comes to certain groups causes us to lose sight of what is actually going on in our lives.
We look for a group to blame when we should be looking for what caused us to be in this situation in the first place. The greatest glory lies in rising every time we fall, when we realize that the only real danger comes from within ourselves, from things we have done when we gave in to fear instead of using our heads and acting with caution and respect for others.
Source: Unpopular Essays
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