THE CONFUSION BETWEEN PERSONS AND PURPOSES

There are really only two facts about human existance that man cannot change or modify in some way, and these are birth and death. Between these two extremes lies a lifetime, be it long or short, happy or sad, fruitful or wasted. How that life is lived is, in large measure. shaped by the individual himself on a conscious, or inconscious level, but in very significant ways the actions, thoughts, motives, feelings, and attitudes of other individuals as well as the rules and customs of society influence or direct his own inner feelings and external behav- iour.

Thus an individual comes to want certain things, to believe in particular things, to set up special goals and to feel in specific ways about various matters. As a result he tends to ally himself with others who share in some measure the same wants, beliefs and goals. These associations, being made up of human beings, soon tend to seggregate into layers, leaders, middle men, and followers and right here is the source of more human trouble than practically anything else but sex and religion. All members of a given group are, in the beginning, drawn together by one common idea or need. They tend to gather around the person who first dares to make his voice heard in the crowd. The group grows by drawing unto itself new members as they learn about it. These persons associate themselves because the group serves their needs too. Quite soon, in the course of this growth, there will appear persons other than the original leader who do not go along with him completely and who begin to oppose his actions at first and sub- sequently, having attracted some followers of their own from the main audience, will set themselves up in opposition to the original leader, the one who first exposed, expressed and activated the buried strivings of the membership.

This process has taken place since the beginning of human social living. It appears in politics, statecraft, religion, education, med- icine, law, you name it. It would be stupid to claim that this aspect of human social behavior is valueless and destructive. Many really great leaders in many fields have arisen out of a group which had or- iginally gathered about someone who voiced common goals. However, human beings are creatures of emotion as well as reason, and they are easily swayed by appeals to the former when they should have used

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