The American sheep and its conformity to the flock.
             There are two common ways of thinking in any specific situation. The first being to fulfill one's own personal needs and desires with no specific regard for others around you. The second, basing your decision on how it will be viewed by others. The vast majority of people fall on the side of the second: being greatly worried and influenced by what others are saying and thinking. The "looking glass self"is a term for the image that people have of themselves based on how they believe others perceive them. Both good and bad can come from living in this manner, for the most part however it has seemed to remain constant throughout history.
             People have a natural desire to belong, and fit in with a certain group. Whichever group an individual may choose it is almost inevitable that the individual will be forced at some point, to sacrifice part of themselves in order to obtain the sense of belonging that they desire. People are compelled to seek companionship, often feeling to weak to stand-alone. As a result, they choose to stand together in whatever group they are best suited to. For some this overwhelming fear of being alone can be disastrous. These are people who will stand together with any group good or bad simply to keep themselves from feeling alone. C.S. Lewis hypothesized that the desire to belong and fit in is a natural human characteristic. He believed that people have an instinctive drive to belong, in the same sort of way that a species instinctively is driven to reproduce.
             Too often in society people forming groups commit unspeakable acts, finding shelter in the sheer numbers of those involved. A series of experiments performed some years back demonstrated a term known as "blind obedience." A subject was placed in a control booth that contained a microphone and panel with a series of numbered switches. The subject was then instructe...