Sheep

In order to form an immaculate member of a flock of sheep, one must above all be a sheep oneself. 

Albert Einstein

We humans are all different and yet we are the same. Difference is celebrated but only to a certain extent. The illusion of order in this chaotic world is brought about by suppressing certain differences and highlighting others.

Religion, race, country and myriad other “differences” are used by the powers that be to turn people against each other. However, if it turns out to be lucrative to corporations, these very things are used to unite people – to turn them into a flock of sheep to consume whatever is thrown at them. There are some types of division that drive the profits of corporations and some types of unison that achieve the same thing.

Religion, for example, has been misused as a tool of division (and unison) for centuries because it is something that most humans were, and still are, passionate about. Nowadays, the tools of division and unison are more varied and complex but one can argue that the overarching tool of such influence is information. Everyone has access to information. Therefore it is the perfect tool of influence – one that is sometimes used constructively and sometimes destructively.

If I call you a sheep, I am sure you will feel insulted. This is because you may think I am implying that you have no independence of thought; that you blindly follow what others do. The truth is, we are all sheep to a certain extent. Even though we are all unique in some way, in other ways we are also the same as millions of other people on the planet.

Have you ever listened to the number 1 song in the charts and wondered how such a dreadful song made it to number 1? Maybe on occasion. But on many other occasions, you may have loved the number 1 song of the week or may have been enthralled by that Netflix show that everyone was talking about. Therefore, within this context, you are just like the millions of other people who liked the song or the tv show. It is this sort of unison that drives the profits of certain outfits (not always the bad kind). On the other hand, division in the name of religion or race drives the profits of other kinds of outfits (always the bad kind).

Entertainment and media in general have an undeniable hold on the collective psyche of humans. This is being leveraged in various ways in different parts of the world. Consumerism is at its peak because current technology allows this. There are many of us who want the latest iPhone, and there are many of us who have made it a point never to buy an iPhone just because it is an iPhone. There is no difference between these two groups. They are just sheep belonging to different flocks.

We are all aware, consciously or sub-consciously, that the general state of the world is full of chaos, disorder, and conflict. However, most of us like to be distracted from these facts. That is why entertainment is a powerful tool. That is why drugs are a powerful tool. That is why large corporations, and sometimes underworld organisations, benefit from these things. That is why we are being turned into various flocks of sheep to line their pockets. What lines their pockets ultimately lines the pockets of those in power. That is how government is done.

That is why order is an illusion. It is simply distraction from the chaos. That is why we have to be sheep.

But we are happy to be sheep because we feel happier when we are entertained and not thinking about the true state of the world.

What is important is that we try to be the best sheep we can be and help out our fellow sheep in their time of need. Being angry about the state of the world is not going to help (though it has produced a lot of good rock music). Believing that you can remain kind and empathetic in a world where such qualities are lacking is the epitome of an immaculate member of a flock of sheep.