What’s Best for Us Peons?

Gee, that’s a good question. Once again, I’m dividing “us peons” into two distinct groups, because what each believes is best for them appears radically different—even though, deep down, their genuine needs are almost certainly the same.

You already know the labels: sheep and shrews. If anyone finds them offensive, tough. I used to feel a twinge of guilt calling people sheep. Not anymore. Most of them have been openly hostile toward me and my fellow shrews, so any lingering remorse using the descriptive label has evaporated. That doesn’t mean I wish them harm—I don’t. Some of my dearest friends are sheep, and I love them still. But I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore.

The sheep’s willful blindness, their automatic herd conformity, is the single biggest reason we’re in this mess. I’m done apologizing for the word. If the shoe fits, wear it. Buckle up, buttercup.

Whew.

Now that that’s out of the way . . . let’s start investigating what is best for us. Ultimately, I suspect both groups would agree on the essentials. After all, we’re all human (I’m speaking only of the peons here, not the ones holding the whip). We all certainly want to feel safe, within reason, we want to be happy, within reason; we want to be creative and in control, within reason, we don’t want to suffer, within reason. And we want to feel we have meaning and purpose in our lives, within reason.