posted on Aug, 9 2009 @ 09:32 PM
Perhaps my eyes have grown more cynical with my old age. I saw a guy dancing, alone. Another came close, the original dancer tried to bond, in dance,
to the second, he was denied. They both continued their individual, yet courageous dance. A third arrives, they are all together, but still alone. In
a matter of minutes, the crowd is too numerous to count.
What I saw here was not the intoxicating effect of freedom of expression, or the contagious nature of joyous oneness with one's god.
What I saw was fear. In a crowd of maybe a hundred people, ONE man had the courage to express himself. Others, undoubtedly with unexpressed scorn or
ridicule, would not allow themselves to be ostracized until they were joined by many more. No one wanted to be the weird guy. Finally, when enough
people had become involved in the dancing, the risk to others of being singled out was minimal and they could join the celebration. Eventually, even
at the end of the song, there were more racing to be a part of the experience.
To me, it was a great video, but I found it a little depressing. It reminded me of fads, peer pressure and dare I say, sheep.
I think the original dancer was either very high, very brave, or a very free spirit. With each consecutive participant, the level of 'buy-in'
required diminished. As more people participated, the easier it was for others to emulate the behavior of the original.
It speaks volumes to me about the level of conditioning present in our society and the fear possessed by the vast majority of us. At what point in ANY
situation, is the level of fear minimized sufficiently by the level of acceptance of others for the action, opinion, or desire for change, to afford
the individual the courage, real or perceived, to join his brothers in the dance?
But the dance isn't at a concert exclusively. It's on the discussion boards, in the boardrooms, lecture halls, politics, life itself. Anywhere we
join in numbers, the dance exists.
How many people must dance before YOU do? How many others must stare bravely at the scorn, retribution or hardship before we all join in the dance?
How do we reteach ourselves to dance, even when we are at risk of being the 'weird' guy?