farmdoc's blog post number 63

Sheep are herd animals. And followers, so they mostly walk in single file. Thus my dictionary defines a sheep as a woolly ruminant mammal, and also a vulnerable and docile person who follows others rather than decides independently. I reckon our society comprises mainly sheep: followers of the media, politicians, moguls and celebrities. Logically, none of these groups deserves to be followed: the media’s primary objective is to sell advertising, if politicians aren’t psychologically damaged before entering parliament they become so soon after, moguls’ monetary wealth is often accreted by less than moral and socially responsible means, and celebrities are famous for talents which almost all others don’t and never can have. These four groups of so-called leaders coerce the population into vulnerability and docility – by locking them into long-term mortgage debt and consumer debt, thus forcing them to work in often menial unsatisfying jobs for long hours leaving them at best tired and at worst defeated and depressed. Little wonder, then, that in Australia volunteerism is in serious long-term decline, mass political protest is dead, and social capital is depreciating. In summary, civil society is not flourishing – at the very time it must because of the grave complex problems confronting us. Keeping the populace vulnerable and thus docile is what the media, politicians, moguls and celebrities want. But it’s not what I want.