The Drum Major Instinct
January 20, 2020·11 comments·Politics
Everyone wants to be important. Everyone craves recognition and significance. Institutions have weaponized this universal human drive to create division, competition, and conflict. But the desire for greatness isn't the problem. What we do with it is.
• The desire to matter and be recognized doesn't fade from childhood into adulthood. It remains a constant human impulse, arguably the most fundamental one. Everyone wants to be first in something.
• We praise people for good deeds and feel genuinely pleased when praised ourselves. This isn't weakness or vanity. It's how the instinct works, and institutions have learned to exploit it at scale.
• The problem isn't that the instinct exists. It's that it's been channeled almost exclusively into competition and individual achievement. The instinct could point toward something entirely different.
• If the desire for importance is unchangeable, suppressing it or shaming people for having it won't work. Any system built on denying this instinct will eventually fail because it goes against something fundamental in human nature.
• What becomes possible if the instinct for greatness is redirected toward service instead of domination. And what does it cost us to keep it pointed the wrong way.
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Comments
Is there anyone left in this country who can deliver such a powerful message in such a moving way? Not only are we bereft of great thinkers, we are bereft of inspirational orators too.
Don’t give up Jim - they are out there. You just have to look, and not too far. Have you read Ben & Rusty’s writings? We are already in the presence of great thinkers and writers. Look at the contributions to the pack from those who comment & encourage.
“Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your alters. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.” And what was the divine rely to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” Romans 11:3-4
Yo, Jim. The real question is, is there anyone left in this country who can hear such a powerful message? Is there anyone who can hear it without flashing in anger at the gall of being called to serve, seeing only false masters as possible benefactors? Is there anyone who can ponder it without disdain for the naivete of those who might cheerfully serve at all? This sermon is a challenge for all to throw off what I feel is the long now’s corporate narrative of competition and status in favor of the righteous, embracing yolk of unity and love. (Love this site!)
Thank you Rusty, that is a great sermon; and thank you TooLucid. And of course, thank you Martin Luther King, Jr.
Beautiful sermon, reminds me of Milton’s “When I Consider How my Light is Spent”:
When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodg’d with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
“Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”
I fondly ask. But Patience to prevent
That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o’er land and ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait.
I don’t think you need to be religious to realize that humility, love, and respect are foundational principles of a life well-spent - and that those ideas are needed just as much now as they were in sinful Babylon.
Yes, there are some great thinkers on this website – Ben, Rusty and members such as yourself. But I feel we are a pack simply trying to survive in a hostile world. An MLK, an FDR, an Abraham Lincoln – these are people who through force of their words and ideas pushed the nation to do great things during times of great change and stress. Is it the times that creates greatness? Do things need to get far worse before people of that caliber crop up to lead the nation?
Jim,
I agree with the other comments to your questions, but I think we need to go further. The key, I think, is in the final paragraph. You don’t need to be a great thinker or an inspirational orator. You don’t need to have the blessing of the masses. Everything that we need is already here. It just needs to be used. It needs to be used in small ways and big ways. It needs to be used for the benefit of others. We need to be servants and shepherds. Not in the condescending way that the nudging oligarchy is trying to do, but in the spirit of a pack. I help you, you help me, together we all grow and experience freedom. By doing that, we inspire others to join the pack and adopt our ways. Not because we think it’s what’s best for them, but because they think it’s what’s best for them. Every day and every way, we need to be the change we seek in the world. Helping one another because by helping others, we help ourselves live in a community that we can feel proud in. The Drum major is useless without a band, and frankly, once they get to the parade, the band doesn’t need 'em anyways.
Well said.
I agree mostly, but worth noting that those guys didn’t have to compete with a billion other loonies who’ve been platformed by the internet/social media etc. and shriek all manner of viewpoints until you’re completely overwhelmed by the bombardment.
Awesome read. To those bemoaning the lack of a champion: be your own. If you’re on here then you know that nobody is going to rescue you. You have to rescue yourself and rescue others. There is no champion coming to save us. How do we do it? It’s not by explaining your values to people and winning them over with logic. It’s living your values, and serving others selflessly. Where are you serving? How are you serving? Volunteer, don’t vote. Ghandi, Jesus, MLK, all followed the same path. People take note of other people that wear themselves out helping others at their own expense. You can pretend to care, but you can’t pretend to show up.
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