Is it smart? Is it dumb?

I was having a long day at work and, at some point, I just needed a distraction. I wandered around in the factory where I found these little worms following each other to cross the street. A car or a person could just come and smash them all at once in any second. I took this picture that I knew it will inspire me to write something(this post) when I see it later and I went back to work.

Is it smart or is it dumb?

Is it smart or is it dumb to stick to the group, follow the leader and owe him your life if he manages to save it. But if he takes a wrong turn, it would be someone else's fault that killed you and that, in my opinion, is not a good way to go.

Is it smart or is it dumb to trust someone who claims he knows better rather than take your own chance and have your own fate in your hands even if you don’t don't think you have all it takes to guarantee your survival.
Moving in group, you are likely to survive together or die together. But if everyone is on his own there's a good chance that someone will survive and tell the story in case the others die.

What would I do?

I don’t know if it would be arrogance or strategy, but I would definitely be in charge of my destiny, take credit for whatever I achieve and take the blame for whatever I lose, with no regrets at all, even if it's my own life.

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A similar situation I went through:

I am the guy standing in the front line talking in the phone with a red bag in my back and this was the last photo of me before I got arrested that day.

I was with a group of my friends in a manifestation during the Tunisian revolution and when we were about to go home we had to go through some police barriers. They were searching everyone and looking for people exactly like us to arrest. That day I was the leader and I told them to go one by one and not to let them know that we are together. They all made it except me and my cousin because we waited for each other when they were searching us so they knew we were together. It was a mistake we could've avoided but it was also a proof that my strategy was right. It worked for the rest of the guys and it would've work for me if I did it right.

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My background

As a Tunisian citizen, I live in a culture where to belong to something bigger than yourself is not relevant. Actually, it sounds insulting to be "led like sheep" or to have the “herd behaviour” these are words you would hear alot in Tunisian TV shows or even in political speeches. It always has the intention of exposing the ugly side of "following blindly". That's how most of us were raised and that's how we live. But this doesn’t mean that someone who was raised as a “lone wolf” wouldn’t appreciate a community where he can be himself, make his own decisions and still have the community to support him and back him up.

Goodreads (or watches):

Sometimes you read something and you hate it so much that it sticks in your memory and shapes your personality. I'm not trying to brainwash you here but here's a little something that will shock you and make you hate following. I read about this study about five years ago in arabic and I can just write a summary translation of it from my memory. But I think it would be better if you watch it in this video:

You think it only applies to animals ?

That’s what I thought too at first. But here’s a social experience that will convince you otherwise. Watch it and ask yourself “would you do the same?”
If the answer is no, then ask yourself “would you have done the same if this happened to you before you read this post and watched these videos?"
Actually, I would be very interested to read your answers in the comments if this is the first time you hear about those two experiments.

I really have no idea how talking about the little worms led to this. I never thought it would be like this when I started writing the post but I hope you enjoyed it.

If you read your way to this point, then CONGRATULATIONS!!! your mind has just been set free/brainwashed !

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