No One Is an Island

It is easy to think of people in terms of groups rather than as individuals; this can be seen most readily in schools. Kids hang out in "cliques", rarely venturing outside of these select enclaves and seemingly always engulfed by them. Even the "out crowd" is a group, though it is comprised of those who don't fit easily into other ones. So we have these kids being conditioned to think in terms of who they are surrounded by, and who is easiest to be with. They aren't challenged by, and don't challenge, their peers because they all want to continue to fit together, and the fear of being rejected by those "friends" is too great. Everyone fears rejection, it is natural to dislike being alone and outcast, even those who try so hard to not need others. How does this lead to people behaving as adults? Does this tendency to cling to the comfortable just evaporate after school? I hardly think so, it is generally accepted that the people one befriends in school (the so-called "formative years") are supposed to be lifelong. So these kids become accustomed to being with certain people, and certain types of people. After a while peer pressure seems normal, just fades into the background, and doesn't get noticed anymore. Which just means it doesn't get counteracted, and it is accepted as the only choice. As adults, how does it effect the workplace? What is the impact on governments? Maybe some of these problems we experience aren't such a mystery (most notably we can recall The Bay of Pigs debacle). Groupthink is alive and well when people do not value others' opinions, thoughts, and contributions. When we continue to ignore what "outsiders" have to offer, what a fresh perspective can show us, then we are islands, but islands of insecurity and fear. Such islands and attitudes lead us nowhere, and offer little hope to reach a common ground.