ohbloodyhell8

One has to be in awe of Mary Shelley.  She capitalized on mob mentality a long time ago.  Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus touched a nerve in society almost 200 years ago and continues to touch a nerve today.  College courses are designed around studying this piece of literature.  It has been adapted into multiple films, stage adaptations, and other genres within the fine arts world.  People misidentify the creature as Frankenstein all the time, driving me positively crazy in the process.  The themes within this one piece of literature are vast and deep, visible in our everyday society.

Politics capitalize on mob mentality stirred usually through propaganda.  The saddest part about this is even with the mob stirred up apathy runs rampant.  Many heated debates may take place in different forums, over coffee at the local shop, over online social media sites, in classrooms on university campuses.  Real change and progress take time, energy, passion, and determination.  Many people have these qualities about their personal passion, but may get tunnel vision and forget to look around.  So while they could help with change they lose perspective and everyone just ends up shouting their tale louder and louder hoping to be heard by anybody who might stop to listen.

Illness also feeds mob mentality.  What was the latest flu-swine, bird?  I cannot even remember.  People think I’m nuts to not get a flu vaccine but the last time I had the flu was the year I got the vaccine.  While many of our modern medicinal advances are wonderful and things I embrace, others are creating new medical issues.  I let my sons get dirty.  I don’t make them use hand sanitizer every thirty minutes.  They get enough of that in school.  You need some germs to help your body develop the ability to fight them.  Over sanitizing can make you get sicker more easily.  Like I said, some medical advances are amazing.  Others not so much.   There is not always one pill to fix something.  Natural treatments are still a valid option.  Mob think however wants that one pill.  They don’t always care if it’s brand spanking new and no one really knows what it could do over the long term.  I personally wait till a new treatment is at least seven years out on the market to see how it does (little trick I learned from my hubby).

Education often falls into the mob mentality.  This is horrific to me.  Everyone learns in an individual way.  While you can learn within a group format, we need to remember that each person is going to leave that group setting and process the information differently.  We label everything in education to the point of labeling the labels!  The mobs said 20 years ago that one needed to have their children in something everyday.  Now these children struggle to focus on one central goal and stick with it.  My boys get to be boys.  They have time to figure out what they want to be when they grow up.  They have time to focus on an interest and become good at it.  They have time to learn because they are learning every day.  There is so much they have to learn about simply being a gentle, considerate, compassionate person at this tender age.  I don’t need to overwhelm them with extraneous stuff.  The mob says I should.  I ignore them.

Children aren’t always hyper–they are simply being children.  They haven’t yet lost the ability to be truly excited and happy about something and show it freely.  I love when I remember to do that-to let my whole being show how excited I am about something.  I don’t care what the mob thinks.  If I’m excited or I really like something regardless of the societal popularity, I’m gonna show it.  Children express their emotions within the moment fully and I still wonder why we work so hard to lose that gift.

Be bold.  Ignore the mob.  Embrace your own thoughts, ideas, and dreams.  Follow your own beliefs.

Truly some think that one’s own beliefs are formed by a mob.  Many (not all) without an organized religion to call home seem to feel or think that organized religion is simply mob mentality or glorified cults.  But unlike what sometimes happens to a person with a political cause, those who embrace a religious family are coming together because of the shared vision.  Then by nature that person usually has similar views to the others within the religious family.  This is similar to how one chooses their political alignment, but one political group doesn’t always meet all of one’s needs. This can make the waters muddy and creates conflict.

Politics and religion battle often over who has control of the human body.  Once again, Shelley was all over that 200 years ago.  This has been debated forever (or at least it seems that way even though I haven’t been around forever).  We put our energies into many things that, while important, make us forget the other things that are equally important.  Give people the benefit of the doubt.  They are probably trying their best each day but are dealing with their own struggles.  A little kindness and acceptance go a long way.

Ramblings flow easily from the brain whether it be the brain of a genius or the brain of “Abby someone…Abby Normal”.  These are my ramblings this evening.  Shelley gave us a lot to think about.  And tons of great movies to watch.  My personal favorites would be Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (yes, Kenneth Branagh’s version) and Young Frankenstein (go Mel Brooks!).  They make a fun double feature if you’ve got the time.  Throw in Frankenstein Unbound and you’ve got your whole day planned.