Don’t Follow The Mob

It’s a fitting warning about man’s nature that in the Old Testament, God would command his followers, “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil,” and to resist the pull of the multitude when they persecute someone on false charges, only to find thousands of years later that this would be the fate of the man who claimed to be his sonThis idea that the judgements of the mob were dangerous and must be avoided is a timeless theme in the ancient world—and one that appears both in the Bible and in the writings of the Stoics. Only a few generations before Jesus, the Stoic Rutilius Rufus was brought up on and convicted of obviously false charges by corrupt political enemies. Around the same time, in one of the first signs that the norms of the Roman Republic were collapsing, a mob gathered and stoned to death a man named Saturninus. Marius, the consul who encouraged Rufus’s demise, was powerless to stop the mob justice he had ridden to power on. By Jesus’s time, the mob was a political force in the Roman empire. It could be pandered to. Riled up. Used to do one’s dirty work. It was a feared and ominous presence. Just a few decades after the mob killed Jesus, Seneca would write that “consort with the crowd is harmful; there is no person who does not make some vice attractive to us, or stamp it upon us, or taint us unconsciously therewith. Certainly, the greater the mob with which we mingle, the greater the danger.” Marcus Aurelius's Meditations is filled with admonishments to ignore the jeers and the cheers of the mob, to think for himself, to avoid the violent spectacles they demanded in the form of gladiatorial games, to do the right thing even if everyone else is insisting (or getting away with) the wrong thing. If only this advice was not relevant today. Unfortunately it is. We have a mob which sways our culture—online and in real life. These are people who attend speeches on college campuses with the intent of disrupting and shutting them down. These are people who march with tiki torches and chant slurs and epithets. These are people who use social media to bully and intimidate. These are people who shout for violence and demand retribution. These are people who are incapable of mercy or empathy or forgiveness. It would be nice if their numbers were few—but they are not. They are legion, and they exist on both sides of the political spectrum (indeed, they often hold contradictory views on various issues and share the same nihilism whether they are extreme left or right). In some cases, they are often the majority view and their pressure costs people their jobs, forces them into hiding, or convinces them to keep silent. They claim to be protecting our way of life...as they destroy it before our eyes. Which is why today and every day we should heed these Stoic (and Biblical) reminders to avoid the mob, to think for ourselves and to stand up for what’s right, especially when the mob is doing evil. When you find yourself on the side of the mob, pause and reflect. Ignore their venom. Speak out. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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  Welcome to The Daily Stoic, where each day we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living the good life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at DailyStoic.com. Don't follow the mob. It's a fitting warning of man's nature that in the Old Testament, God would command his followers, "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil, and to resist the pull of the multitude when they persecute someone on false charges." Of course, he would find thousands of years later that this would be the fate of the man who claimed

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  to be his son. This idea that the judgments of the mob were dangerous and must be avoided is a timeless theme in the ancient world, one that appears both in the Bible and in the writings of the Stoics. Only a few generations before Jesus, the Stoic Rutilius Rufus was brought up on and convicted of obviously false charges by corrupt political enemies. Around the same time, in one of the first signs that the norms of the Roman Republic were collapsing, a mob gathered and stoned a man to death named Saturninus. Marius, the consul who had encouraged Rufus's demise, was powerless to stop the mob justice he had ridden to power on. By Jesus's time, the mob was a political force in the Roman Empire.

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  It could be pandered to, riled up, used to do one's dirty work. It was a feared and ominous presence. Just a few decades after the mob killed Jesus, Seneca would write that "to consort with the crowd is harmful. There is no person who does not make some vice attractive to us, or stamp it upon us, or taint us unconsciously therewith. Certainly the greater the mob with which we mingle, the greater the danger." Marcus Aurelius's meditations are filled with admonishments to ignore the jeers and the cheers of the mob, to think for himself, to avoid the violent spectacles they demanded in the form of gladiatorial games, to do the right thing even if everyone else is insisting or getting

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  away with the wrong thing. If only this advice were not relevant today, but unfortunately, it is. We have a mob which sways our culture online and in real life. These are the people who attend speeches on college campuses with the intent of disrupting and shutting them down. These are the people who march with tiki torches and chant slurs and epithets. These are people who use social media to bully and intimidate. These are people who shout for violence and demand retribution. These are people who are incapable of mercy, or empathy, or forgiveness. It would be nice if their numbers were few, but they are not. They are a legion, and they exist on both sides of the political spectrum.

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  Indeed, they often hold contradictory views on various issues, but share the same nihilism, whether they are on the extreme left or right. In some cases, they are often the majority view, and their pressure costs people their jobs, forces them into hiding, or convinces them to keep silent. They claim to be protecting our way of life, as they destroy it before our very eyes. Which is why today and every day, we should heed these stoic and biblical reminders to avoid the mob, to think for ourselves, and to stand up for what's right, especially when the mob is doing evil. Whenever you find yourself on the side of the mob, pause and reflect, ignore their venom, and of course, speak out. Anger is a problem that faces us all.

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  We don't all have anger problems, but anger is a problem for everyone. You can learn how to control your temper with Daily Stoic's new course, Taming Your Temper: The 10-Day Stoic Guide to Controlling Your Anger. Stoics recognized anger as a weakness to be mastered. They knew that anger left unchecked would consume you and take over your life. We can help you. I hope you check it out. Go to DailyStoic.com/anger.