When the majority shouts the city must burn

 

To whom it may concern... Choices and decisions!

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”

Mark Twain

The minds of the people are easily swayed by the pressures of hardship. Their decisions become clouded by fears that cause them to take actions out of desperation — actions they know are wrong but become easier to commit when their resolve has been chipped away.

Mob mentality is a vacuum that pulls people with good intentions toward a destructive center. There are many who stand on the fringes as the anger of a group begins to boil, but soon they are confronted with a moral dilemma when this collective anger turns into harmful actions. A mob cannot retain power if there is dissent or questioning: those who hesitate against its violence are branded as allies of their enemy, or radicalized into complacency until they are one with the group. But anger cannot feed a group forever, and those who build upon its unreliable foundation will quickly collapse. And when the mob is broken – when the fury begins to cool, and rational thought regains control – its individuals are left alone and scattered again. A person cannot defend themselves against repercussions for the horrors they committed simply because they were under the influence of a misguided horde. In the end, every person is responsible for their own decisions. 

When the voices of hundreds shout that the city must burn – that the kingdom must fall; that the accused must be convicted without trial – it becomes harder to hear the thousands who quietly disagree. A leader cannot fall prey to the whims of the voices that shout the loudest, but must stand as a voice of reason in defense of the silent majority.