The notion that there is safety in numbers is never far from the minds of most people. It has become almost axiomatic that people have adopted the mantra - "there is safety in numbers" - as a guiding principle for their lives [see photo].
Just observe how people like to cluster. They choose to wear the same fashion statement. They choose to live in the same house as their immediate neighbours. They choose to support the same sporting teams. They choose to vote for the same electoral candidates. They choose to think about the major issues in the very same fashion. And they choose to mimic the habits of those around them. In general, it seems that most people act as if they belong to a school of fish as they seek safety in numbers as their bulwark from predators.
If one chooses to live inside the collective who all swim between the flags at the beach and play by the rules of the day for life beyond the beach; you can expect to live your life with sameness not difference. And sameness means more and more mandated behaviours.
There are many dangers lurking outside for those who live inside their cocoon of safety.
Take the simple example of the flags on a beach being set too far up the shoreline. Here the midday undertow may spin you around like a cotton T-shirt in the spin cycle of your tumble dryer. Tumbling waves, blinding sands, plus there are a random assortment of arms and legs that repeated hit you as you struggle to regain your innate sense of direction. This will likely culminate in you lying face down on the beach gasping for air as the water recedes back into the ocean. In an instant you learn, if you did not already know it, you are alone in this world.
Richard.
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