• Sign in
  • Communities
  • BillCam
  • About Us
  • Shop
0
DailyClout

Help fund independent journalism.

Donate
  • Sign In
  • Home
  • Opinion
    • Outspoken
    • The Drew Allen Show on DailyClout
    • Heart & Mind
    • Investigate Everything
    • Emerald & Naomi
    • Generation Rogue
    • The Liberty Lobbyist
    • The Shannon Joy Show on DailyClout
    • Man in America on DailyClout
    • The Sarah Westall Show on DailyClout
  • Submissions
  • Events
  • Our Story
  • Shop
  • Become a Member!
  • Donate

DailyClout

The Origins of Groupthink

December 6, 2022 • by John Leake

Going along to get along.

This article was republished from the author’s Substack

At a recent event in Malibu, California, hosted by the Children’s Health Defense, I fell into a fascinating conversation with a fellow investigative author about what is going on in our increasingly bewildering world, and the difficulty of ascertaining anything with certainty. One of the phenomena we discussed was the way in which humans often divide into groups that perceive the same object in diametrically opposing ways.

In our current controversy, one group sees the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines as a godsend; the other group sees them as a menace. The opposing groups argue and hurl purported facts and figures at each other, but rarely does anyone in either group change his mind. Once a belief is adopted, it can be surprisingly persistent, even in the face of massive empirical evidence to the contrary.

Pondering this phenomenon reminded me of an essay that was published in 2017 in the New Yorker. I reread it this (Sunday) evening before I went to bed. Just as I recalled, the essay contains many interesting and thought-provoking passages. I’d completely forgotten the exceptionally tendentious paragraph on vaccine hesitancy. While most of the article is written in a neutral, non-assertive tone, it unequivocally characterizes those who question the safety and efficacy of vaccines as fundamentally irrational. That the quoted expert’s certainty may itself be an irrational article of faith isn’t countenanced.

The musing I found most interesting is that most humans do not apply reason to the endeavor of independent inquiry, but to figuring out how to integrate with a group, get along with its members, and benefit from them. The loner must fend for himself. It’s extremely difficult to acquire or achieve anything all by oneself. The Paleolithic “freethinker” who challenged his tribe’s chieftains and high priests would likely find himself ostracized, exposed, vulnerable, and hungry.

Thus, Groupthink may be conceptualized as an archaic survival mechanism that has persisted into the modern world. If you leave your group, your options are limited to joining the opposing group or being alone. For most of us, neither option is appealing. As Kipling famously put it:

The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. To be your own man is hard business. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.

Spread the Word

Subscribe to DailyClout so you never miss an update!

Spread the Word

  • Please support DailyClout.io. Our research, our uncompromising, fact-based journalism, our compelling opinion pieces and videos, our BillCam platform that lets you pass good bills and stop bad bills, and our lawsuits to preserve medical freedom and secure accountability for wrongdoers, have all helped to keep America and countries around the world safer and freer. We need your donations to keep fighting for you and your loved ones. We cannot do any of it without you and your generous support. Please give what you can as a one-time donation, or please, if you can, send us a monthly recurring donation. Please put resources behind the values you support, and that we do so much to help you defend.

    Thank you.

  • $0.00

california chd Covid covid19 groupthink malibu mrna new yorker vaccine
Previous StoryHorrifying New Report on the Drastic Spike in Miscarriages Since the Rollout of the COVID-19 Injections
Next StoryProtecting Freedom in 2022

Leave your comment Cancel Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent Posts

  • USAID Bribery Scheme Exposed: $550M in Fraudulent Contracts Uncovered
    USAID Bribery Scheme Exposed Saturday, 14, Jun
  • US Government Website Could Be Shut Down After Mass Layoffs
    “US Government Website Could be Shut Down After Mass Layoffs” Friday, 13, Jun
  • Copy of Copy of strategy (1)
    “Dr. Hadar Elbaz of TWC: Heavy Metal Detox” (Sponsored) Friday, 13, Jun
  • Rent-a-Riots & Food Sabotage
    In the Lair: “Rent-a-Riots & Food Sabotage” Friday, 13, Jun
  • Failure to Warn
    On Failure to Warn, reasonable suspicion to investigate for the state-level crime of reckless endangerment, and exclusion of federal employees and officials from PREP Act immunity Friday, 13, Jun

Blog Archive

Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Become a Member
  • BillCam
  • Communities
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Submissions
  • Substack
  • Privacy Policy
View Cart Checkout Continue Shopping
Do you really want to logout of DailyClout?
Yes

You are now leaving DailyClout...