Matt's Muzings
Group Think?
The weather seemed appropriate. It was chilly, gray and overcast as my wife, son and I walked into the Dachau concentration camp, 45 minutes north of Munich, Germany . It was the first of what became over 200 camps in central Europe. I was teaching in Europe and we took a weekend to drive around and explore.
I had heard about the camps and even seen pictures, but to walk into the World War II concentration camp and know that the only difference between myself and those who died there was timing. I found the pain of it hard to grasp.
We walked into the hall that was once a jail house/torture hall where posters, pictures and different pieces of communication that led up to the forming of the camp were on display. Hitler's struggle for power, final success and what he communicated to the people hung in silence.
Further on in the hall were pictures, clothes and descriptions of camp life. I was standing looking at one large picture of a guard in a tower with a machine gun overlooking the yard and in the background I could see the building I was in. It was eerie. He could have been looking for me.
Another picture showed men who had their hands tied behind their back, who were hung by their hands over the smallest infraction or even if the guard didn't like them. So much pain.
As I reflected on the amount of evil that was done there I pondered how this happened. I always thought that the devil was against people working together and was for anarchy. The picture in my mind was one where "everyone just did their own thing". There was no organization at all.
But as I looked at this camp and the hundreds of other camps set up all over Germany, I was struck by the idea that the devil is not for anarchy, but for organization.
He realizes an organization has far greater influence than any individual. His greatest influence will come through developing an organization that exists to dominate and destroy those involved in it. The greatest pain is not brought through anarchy, but through an organization that slowly maims and crushes all those in it.
My first response is that we should not organize. We should stop large organizations. But then I realize that God made us to work together and in fact the greatest blessing will only come as we walk in unity and learn to organize ourselves.
God created us to organize. The greater capacity for good creates the opportunity for a greater capacity for evil.
So how does a good system get turned and bent for the purposes of evil? It starts when individuals lose or give up their voice. Irving Janis talks about groupthink and I have personalized and paraphrased some of his work. Below I have listed some attitudes that can exist in me that, if accepted, moves us away from life and towards destruction. (You can replace the "I" with a "we" to develop groupthink.)
Symptoms of Groupthink:
Invulnerability - When I cling to the illusion that I am invulnerable.
Rationale - When I use my mind to create a justification for what I am doing. I also create reasons for why I don't have to listen to any warnings or negative feedback.
Morality - When I become the only standard for what is right.
Stereotypes - Because when I am right, all other groups/leaders are wrong. I polarize issues and make everything about us and them, right and wrong. I allow no gray areas.
Peer Pressure - When I use fear and create peer pressure to silence anyone who raises questions or expresses doubts. I make being in the 'in' group the only acceptable place to be.
Self-censorship - When I keep silent about any misgivings I have and minimize my doubts. My conformity to the group is the only safe place for me. I prefer my own safety to reality.
Unanimity - When I accept conformity as unity.
Mindguards - When I censor any news that discredits the ingroup. News is created and censored to meet the needs of the group.
When I allow these attitudes to exist in me, in a very small way, it is the beginning of the end of an organization. Life, creativity and the ability to change will always come through individuals and will be the life stream of the organization.
God is for organizations. He wants a healthy health care system, a just Government, businesses that provide real services, educational systems that educate. This and so much more.
I am renewed in my commitment to help people find their voice and to talk about difficult issues. This is what God, through my graduate work, has trained me for. This is what I am called to do in the midst of all my fears and limitations.