If your friends jump off a bridge...

Unable to get to sleep last night (which seems to be a regular occurrence anymore) I ended up watching this 20/20 episode. I don't remember much because I was completely out of it. A portion was about the polarization or "The Big Sort" of communities to a political parity. What did stick in my semi-conscious head was the experiment they filmed in which groups of people from different "blue" and "red" communities come together and try to come to a consensus about issues facing the country. The experiment seemed to prove that mob mentality applies to politics. When several people got together and discussed issues, the majority was usually able to sway the minority to their beliefs. It was implied that the minority in the each group went along in an effort to be accepted by the group as a whole. The scary part was that the group minority seemed to end up on extreme sides of the argument even though they may not have agreed at all to begin with.

So the entire experiment proved one thing in my little pea brain. People will hand over their spine in an effort to be a part of the group. This puts a huge dent in my faith that common sense will eventually triumph over stupidity.