Essay Drop #5 Blind Followers and Leaders

Nickelback and leadership, an odd but understandable mix for Inauguration Day

Introduction

This is a part of a series of “thought essays” I use to clear my mind and, eventually, with some love and punctuation, they become something much greater. Not all of these are alike, Entry 44 was the first of its kind, and it’s well on its way to becoming a novella. This one, however, will remain short. I promise. That’s why I published it a year after writing it!

But you came here for the content, not me (is there a difference?)

Entry 75: Blind Followers and Leaders

“Why must the blind always lead the blind?” – Nickelback

(yes, I just quoted Nickelback…hear me out!)

“Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” – The Bible

There is no doubt in my mind that whatever influenced Nickelback to write this lyric, directly or indirectly, the source had to stem from the Biblical Corpus—or the phrase is so old that it dates back long before The Bible came to be. When Nickelback was writing Feed the Machine—which is probably their least overrated good song—they were on to something.

Whether the release in 2016 was intentional or not, we can suss out a correlation to the meaning of the song. If we look at when it was released and the elections around the world—particularly in America—we find the words to be poignant. It doesn’t matter who you cast your vote for, they are blind leaders who are plugged into the same establishment in some way as all the others. So, no matter who you pick, you are still doomed to “feed the machine” that is consuming humanity.

“Why must the blind always lead the blind” can mean a lot of things when applied to the world but I would posit that the best interpretation of the song’s lyric is through the lens of politics and those running for office. Our leaders are blinded by power or their own walled garden, or fortress, or whatever the case may be. So blinded by what they have made for themselves that they cannot see what should be done let alone what must be done. It also alludes to the fact that while these leaders cannot see what ought to be done for their society, the people they lead are often blinded by various reasons as well. Most followers have little power in their relationship to their leader, but what matters is that they are blind to the blindness of their leaders. They are blind to the issues that are not in front of them-impacting them-and they are blind to the plight of others.

This is the fundamental issue: The followers are blind.

If a leader is blind, they are a blip on the radar—especially in a democracy—to the grand schemes of society and civilization. The same is even truer for the blind follower who has no cross-section to become a blip on the radar at all. However, if the people become blind, then it’s a systemic issue that must be transformed before society—or maybe even civilization depending on the severity—is utterly corrupted by the disease that is causing the blindness. Unfortunately, human nature is not good, and when we become blind, together, it is more likely to result in horror and devastation. Blind followers, the Madness of a Crowd, can wreak havoc on society without the blind ever recognizing what they’re doing.

And I opted for “transformed” on purpose. In our modern paradigm relative to power, this is a Marxist influenced word, a school of Frankfort thing, a Hegelian idea; something that means utterly changed or altered through the dynamic of power. The madness of a crowd is due to their blindness as they follow those around them. This is power-aimless, chaotic, power. This is what blind people, working together, become. They are transformed and are no longer a group of individuals; rather they are raw, chaotic power.

I use this word “transform” and the relation to Marx and the rest not to tell you it is bad because “Marx equals bad” but rather to give a reference for how I am using the term. I’m not here to demonize him or praise him, only to say that he has the word that best describes my point. For better or worse, ideologies often build up their own meaning for words, and from my knowledge this is the best suited example with reference that I can give.

In order to see such failures of society that enable this blindness, and the consequential transformation of the people, we must seek to understand what the Marxist Power Lens is—that is to say understand what Marx means when he talks about “transformation” and “power”. From there, we might grasp what is happening in a society where the blind lead the blind.

That does not mean the entire system of society—or a civilization—should be ripped apart, torn asunder, and replaced. Nor does it mean that a leader should assume power over the group and make the necessary change. No… society must be woken up by this plight that plagues them. The root cause of the plight must be properly identified, and the resolution to the blindness must be instituted in such a way that the people never lose sight in that area again. And yes, I use the word “woken” deliberately here as well. This is the kind of “woke” I am for. The kind that identifies an actual objective problem and seeks a remedy within the system without resorting to concentrated authority or power.

Why?

Power and centralized authority blinds both leaders and followers to the seeds of corruption that take hold of such whims and systems. We, as a people, must identify, recognize, propose solutions, and institute them to prevent ourselves from becoming blind to the facets of life that we are unable to see properly! The same is true for those facets of life we don’t want to see, that we ignore so that we do not become blind to them either.

We must actively work against the desire to become blind to things we don’t care about, are not impacted by, or are otherwise not directly involved in. We must push to grow, learn, and educate ourselves on the various issues, researching all sides and recognizing where we can do better in our education. We must have conversation and debate and take action that is agreeable by all sides of an issue. We must stay actively “woke” and vigilant to the blindness that could creep up should we let our guard down.

It is the allowance of these things to fester that causes blind leaders to rise to power. Blind leaders prey on emotion and the blindness of their followers to gather power. They do not care about solving any issue they are blind to, but rather amassing more power and control and influence for themselves, they feed off the blindness, they feed off those who are sucked into the vortex of blindness, and they are the machine. The machine that is fed when good people fail to act, when society becomes so blind that the blind are allowed to dictate what we see and thus generate more blindness.

Such a system is already in place in the United States of America. There are two main camps, the Right and the Left. These are, admittedly, a general grouping and that is foolish to be sure, but that is how society views such things. If we wanted to be more accurate, the "Evangelical Right and The Left as entities within the Right and Left, are the major players in this game for power. They are the most vocal in either camp, and therefore have the ability to dictate most policies through the leaders they have influence over. Both groups are blind to each other’s plight, both are blind to the arguments of each other, and when either gathers enough power, control, and influence, they force their blindness on more people through fiat of argument, through utter control of the narrative of current events and rewrite history if need be. This only snowballs until the blindness becomes such that the entire society requires the diseases of both to operate. Anyone not in the vortex of either side is left to be torn to shreds between the two. This is where we are. This is where we have been. The machine has been fed; the blind have led the blind.

This is what happens when the blind lead the blind: both shall fall into the ditch and drag anyone else with them that are remotely tied to them. This is why we must recognize our blindness and actively seek to research, learn, debate, converse, and empathize. This is why we must see what we cannot see. This is why we must understand what it means to transform ourselves through the eyes of the power structure, and in our consciousness. We must understand what is causing the blindness so that we might find a way to reach the blind. In doing so, we will have to use our power to exert control and rational thought in ourselves as well as those in our sphere of influence.

We should not force others to our point of view, rather we must seek to give thoughtful and well-researched answers to the questions others have. If we do not have all of that prepared, we should state that we have more to learn, this is where we are now, and we will go and do more research on the topic at hand. In any scenario, we must strive to listen, learn, and understand what others have to say. Even if we disagree or hold their opinions in low regard, we must seek to understand where they are coming from and where they believe our faults are. This gives us education and homework for our growth, but most importantly, it gives us the opportunity to find common ground. Without common ground, there is no hope.

If we fail to do these things, the forces of the blind will seek out more who are blind as they are, and thus perpetuate the inevitable destruction of our society and perhaps even civilization. It is the power to transform ourselves as individuals—becoming better than we were—that we possess. It is the only power we should recognize. It’s the power of our own will—our desire as individuals—we ought to recognize. It’s our duty to make ourselves wiser, more knowledgeable, and understanding of the world so that we do not become blind. If we are blind, then we must do our duty to regain our sight. Only then can we hope to sway others to see reality in its entirety. Only then can we hope to make the world a better place.

Another poem drops every Saturday and there’s short stories, essays, and What the Book Podcast drops too!