The Seditionist

Most have seen a Hitler or Goebbels speech; a figure afire with conviction standing before a roaring crowd; the intonation of the speaker’s voice, the clever pauses in which the crowd can jump to their feet and cheer loud enough to drown out  all else, the repetetive chants of “Heil! Heil! Heil!” It was all an impeccably organised event of rabble rousing, down to the imposing decor, the goose-stepping children with Fatherland in their steps and iron in their eyes.

While the Nazis perfected the rabble-rousing speech, it’s been around for a long time; I presume it’s been with us since the beginning. It’s not magic, merely a simple psychological process that makes a collection of people perceive themselves as not merely a group but almost as a single individual. A process which would do wonders for the tribe during times of war, and perhaps bring it together in times of need.

Jingoists the world over frequently hold such events, flags billowing in the background and chants of “U.S.A, U.S.A, U.S.A!” or local equivalent. Whether campaign rally or tea party, a crowd is quickly transformed into a photogenic rabble.

Sometimes those of us on the left forget that the same situation appeals to us just as strongly, though there will probably be no national flags or nationalistic sloganeering. The essentials will be intact though; the spontaneous cheering, the electricity coursing through the crowd, pumping adrenaline into enthusiastic minds.

In the end, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being inspired by being part of a crowd, even if it’s a simple psychological trick. The important thing is understanding that it’s happening. It’s OK to take the energy from such an event and apply it to though-out, well-reasoned causes. It’s counter-productive to be swept up by a wave of enthusiasm, to unthinkingly charge forward without pausing to consider whether what we’re doing is going to be productive and whether it’s even something that agrees with one’s political and moral outlook.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 12:35 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.