Greetings from Those People

GroupThink, according to social psychologists, is an unwillingness to venture outside the box.  Refusing to consider any idea that brings discomfort to you or your friends.   GroupThink keeps group members content, but only for a while.  When left unchecked, it leads to stagnation and persistent error. It blinds people to fatal flaws that may ultimately destroy the group.

A second kind of GroupThink, a cousin of the one we just described, is even more insidious. It happens when we dismiss an idea because it came from one of those people.  “He’s just a gun-toting right-wing racist conservative nut-job.”  “She’s just a tofu-eating left-wing eco-socialist feminazi.”  Notice the insertion of the word just to convey dehumanization. The merits of the idea don’t matter.  Whether those people even exist doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is the perception that crazies are out there, that they do not deserve to be heard and ought to be marginalized.

For many young Americans—and we cannot exclude ourselves—this second kind of GroupThink has become a staple of political thought and discourse. But it is the intellectual equivalent of junk food.  Sure, one bag of Chili Cheese Doritos isn’t going to kill you.  Verbal caricatures of those people may be clever, and they usually carry an element of truth. But too much of that stuff can ruin your soul. It’s a calorie-rich, nutrient-poor, addictive substitute for RealThink.

Damage is done when GroupThink gets injected into issues of moral and spiritual importance. Consider the age-old question of how the universe came to be.  There are folks who would like to take this question seriously.  But friendly, thoughtful discussion is rarely found.  Dialogue is reduced to cheap shots, one-liners, and hooray-for-our-side debates between atheists and proponents of intelligent design.  When GroupThink arrives, reason, contemplation and simple kindness quickly depart.

The students, faculty and friends of Penn State who developed this blog are not being paid.  We have acted with noble intentions and sincere desire to serve the community. In return, we are asking you for one small favor.  As you read material on Seed—and we certainly hope that you do—try not to conjure up mental images about where we came from or how we look.  Please don’t label us as belonging to any real or imaginary group.  Hear these words spoken by someone you know — a friend, a roommate, a colleague from the workplace. Someone whom you might not always agree with, but who lives and breathes just as you do.   Because we are not those people.  We are just people. Nothing less, nothing more.