"The vast mass of people, the human material, exists in the world solely in order at last...by means of a kind of effort, a process that so far remains a mystery to us, involving some strange crossing of generations and races...to muster its strength and bring into the world the one person out of a thousand who is even slightly independent." Fyodor Dostoyevsky Crime and Punishment. While leadership is not common in all of us, but only a few, it is this type of "vast mass" and "human material" mentality that leaves many leaders to believe the people of our society are to be manipulated and treated like herds.

We are thought of as "the masses." We are the multitudes who "they" believe can be easily manipulated. We are the people with the bill of rights. "They" take our rights and leave us with the bill. And we wonder why "they" think of us that way. And we wonder who "they" are. We wonder how far it spreads. Sometimes it seems that for every one of us, there is one of them. People are always trying to tell others what to think as if they are the only ones aware or concerned. But, it's getting so huge. It covers the administration, the courts, law enforcement, social services, health clinics, education, food and drugs, parks and recreation, housing development, commercial development, highways, special committees, committees with committees, on and on...etc. Offices upon offices with state and federal stamps have policies and procedures in place treating the rest of us as if we don't know any better for ourselves. The sentiment of having initiatives to make people more aware ripples out to other agencies with state and federal funding. So much awareness to spread and so many people believing they have a sole mission to spread it. It's as if we all feel this way about each other. So, now that we know who we are, we still wonder why. If I am educated and you are educated, if I think and you think, then why do we all feel as if none of us can think for ourselves? "We received our coloring from Norsemen. Hairy savages who hacked their gods to pieces and hung the flesh on trees." Janet Fitch White Oleander.

...nothing justifies its own existence as good as an ever-increasing self-indulging hype-laden fear monger.

"Damn. Where'd you learn that?"

"Uh, I don't know. A self-awareness meeting?"...More