Vs. 20

Yes and no
Are they so different?
Good and bad
Are they so far apart?
What others fear
I must fear too
Such recklessness! Without and end!

Most people are merry making and happy
As though celebrating the Great Sacrifice
And climbing a lookout in the spring

I alone am unmoved!
Like one without preferences
Like an infant who never smiles
Lost!
As thought homeless

Most people have excess
I alone appear wanting
With the mind of a fool!
Muddled and confused!
Others are bright and clear
I alone am dim
Most people are smart and assured
I alone am dull and dim
Placid!
Abiding like the ocean
Aimless!

Drifting without an anchor
Most people have things to do
I alone appear awkward and crude
I alone differ from others
Because I cherish the milk of the Mother.

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu, trans. by Rosemarie Anderson Ph.D.

These lines come as a cautionary tale, a sardonic warning about group-think, the tendency to adopt the attitude, the opinion of the majority of our fellows. Perhaps you have noted advertising leans heavily on the quest for belonging, for membership, the security of the herd.

Stripped of any context what is the difference between ‘yes’ and ‘no’? These words are sounds and nothing else, without a link to circumstances. In essence there’s no difference. Only as a functioning signifier are yes and no important at all.

If you are content to associate yourself with “most people” – prepare to be raped, existentially mutilated by anyone craven enough to profit from your helplessness…