Reading Irving Janis's Victims Of Groupthink was something that definitely felt very personal for me. I grew up being raised as a Jehovah's Witness and was heavily indoctrinated into the groupthink mentality. I had viewed this as a cult like mentality before reading this and still feel in many respects that it is however I can see more clearly how a "sheep like" quality of just going along with the majority can happen in any setting where people are coming together for whatever purpose.
I was taught from a very young age not to question any of the beliefs that were the basis of my family's religious beliefs. This was very difficult for me since what I was being asked to accept did not feel right for me. If I did not become baptized into the group of Jehovah's Witnesses by the time I was a teenager, I was going to be under suspicion. I had a choice, either I could go along with what my family and the church wanted or I would be shunned.
I had put off the decision to become baptized until I was eighteen years old, which was way past time according to my family. I wasn't even living at home anymore and my lifestyle was definitely not in harmony with the values of Jehovah's Witnesses. The pressure to make a commitment to being a Jehovah's Witness was more than I could take. I was not ready to cut off ties with my family yet, particularly my mother and sister. If I did not show them that I was one of them I would no longer have a connection with the people that meant the most to me. So I did it, I got baptized as a Jehovah's Witness and everyone could breathe a sigh of relief.
Unfortunately the facade did not last very long. I could not pretend that I was truly a Jehovah's Witness and that this was the life I wanted to live. Instead of actually facing my family and telling them the truth I moved to Portland Oregon and began to explore who I was away from the influence of my family and their community of Jehovah's Witnesses. I would pretend that I was going to church and making friends in the Jehovah's Witness community in Portland. I hated lying to my family and knew that I had to stop being a hypocrite. The guilt that I felt was consuming every aspect of my life. I finally told the truth and excommunicated myself from the community of Jehovah's Witnesses. This went as I had expected which was not good. It has been over thirteen years since I have seen my mother and most of the rest of my family. As difficult as this has been at times being truthful and genuine with myself and everyone around me is definitely worth the pain involved.
It amazes me to see just how powerful group mentality can be not just in my own life but in the world at large. We can go along with what other people are saying is right ignoring what I feel are very powerful natural instincts. We can inflict so much damage and still feel that what we are doing is o.k. because the group has agreed on what action should be taken. In his article Irving Janis states "Nietzsche went so far as to say that madness is the exception in individuals but the rule in groups" (Janis 32). Whether it's telling someone to cut off communication with their child or even something that feels positive such as making a decision to improve a societies well being, it is critical that we think for ourselves and ask question, even when it feels scary to do so.
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