In Physics there is a phenomenon called "super-fluidity" in which atoms stop behaving like individual particles and start moving in concert with their neighbors. For this to happen two things must occur:
- The particles must be super-cooled to their liquid state so to put them near their neighboring particles and stay in their ground state.
- The particles must be indistinguishable from each other even if they swap sub-atomic particles.
An example of this is liquid Helium. It is a perfect atom because it has 2 protons, 2 neutrons and 2 electrons with a filled outer shell. Two atoms of Helium could exchange any particle and no one would know a difference. When super-cooled to a liquid state their locations become "blurred" and they essentially stop being individual particles but begin to operate in unison. They essentially lose their individual identity and become entangled with the identity of their neighbors. Therefore if one particle moves in a certain direction there is a good probability that a neighboring particle will move in that same direction. If you were to take a little bit of the liquid helium and pull it out of the container the whole container will follow it over the edge and onto the floor.
In society the same can happen for us as people too. When we lose our sense of being "individuals" we tend to move in the same direction as those around us. Our identity becomes entangled with their identity and we stop thinking for ourselves. We may even think we are moving in the right direction but we can't really tell because we are caught up in the moment and can't see distant future. This is why you have to be very careful of the movements you allow yourself to be "entangled" in and let other people do the "thinking for you".
Take for example the school teachers in Nazi Germany. They were caught up in a movement that were told was "good for Germany". They stopped thinking for themselves and lost their identity as individuals in exchange for being German. In their desire to be like everyone else that they merely repeated what they were told and trained school children to think and do the same. It was their loss of individuality that led them to implementing the atrocious and vile beliefs of Nazism. When we watch movies today that attempt to show the views taught to children in the German schools we often cringe in horror as we witness teachers programming their students in genocide and racism. We think to ourselves, "How could they do this?" ,"What were they thinking?" or "How could they be so blind?"
Today, in America, much could be said about what is taught in our schools today. Say what you want, but no one knows the long lasting effects of our education social programs. We, like the German teachers, are caught up in there moment and the here-and-now. We can't see that our behavior and views may be caught up in "social-super-fluidity". We all like to think we are acting on our own accord and as individuals, but we become entangled with society and lose our perspective. We let others do the thinking for us. It could be politicians, leaders, writers, entertainers or even other teachers.
This is also the error of defining yourself by what class/race/heritage you belong to. When we identify as belonging to X-race or Y-race and not the Human-race you exchange some of your own individuality for the racial, sexual, gender or even political sub-class you desire to belong to. You stop determining your own path and let others dictate your steps for you. Like those helium atoms that lose their identity you also lose yourself as well and move with the group and do things you as an individual would not do.
It's like what my mom would tell me about hanging out with my friends late at night. She would tell me that the IQ of the group goes DOWN as you add more people to the group and the later it gets into the night. In a way she was right. As we join ourselves with other people we each think someone else is doing the "thinking" when in fact NO ONE is thinking. We all hope someone else will hold the group back from doing "stupid stuff" ( I don't have to list them here... we've all done them) when in fact NO ONE is holding the group back. Each of you abdicated the ownership of your individuality to the group and as my mother would say, "became group-stupid".
I, personally, think we should fight ALL social movements in our schools whether they come from the left or the right. In either case we stand the chance of losing our individuality and run the risk of moving society in a direction we will later regret. I think this was much what the framers of our Constitution feared would happen. They saw the atrocities of the French Revolution and did everything in their power to prevent it from happening here. They put the highest value on us as individuals and sought to instill in us pride in being such.
