The point of no return...

We all have moments. We all want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. We all want to be needed and loved. We all want to belong. What we don't realize, is that in order to belong, we have to give up part of ourselves. We tell ourselves that what ever group we plan on joining, will accept us for who and what we are, but in the end most groups demand major changes in order to belong. Most groups want us to give up a part of ourselves and replace it with what they want in their members.

It is the party line. Any group no matter who they are or what they stand for have a party line. And they want their members to swallow that line like a fat kid chugs kool-aid. The 'party line' is how and what the group chooses to align itself with. Look at politics, you have democrats and republicans. They want the people who claim to be dems and reps to follow what the party says. They want them to vote for the party candidates. Fortunately in that case, people can and do exercise a certain amount of free will.

That is one end of the spectrum. The other end is the close knit groups. These are the frats, the gangs, and the clubs. They tend to use a much more subtle type of indoctrination. The promise of family and brotherhood is seductive. The promise that no matter what goes wrong, your 'brothers', your 'family' will be there. So many people are willing to let go of what makes them special, and they are willing to follow blindly what is asked of them. That's not loyalty, that's idiocy. True family, and true brothers never ask you to take on tasks that they, themselves would never take on first. They never ask you to give up a part of your self if you want to spend time with them.

As alluring and as tempting as it is to seek and perhaps find something like that, you have to ask yourself, 'Will I like what I will become if I take the leap?' 'Is it worth loosing my morals, and my internal compass just to fit in with a group?'

As a wise man once said..."I don't want to belong to any group that would have me as a member."