Saved by the Organist

I was hanging out on an Internet forum the other day, and somebody commented on a news story about 47 passengers in a grounded airliner. For some reason, the airline kept them on the plane for six hours.

The commentor said, "The fact that those 47 people were willing to not kick open the door and bail just for the hell of it is amazing. Not sure if it was an act of orderly calm or sheepdom tho."

And that reminded me:

Last Sunday was quite a warm day here in Santa Cruz. Rhumba and I spent the morning in a pew in a church with ventilation that -- well, "iffy" is the best word I've got. At the beginning of the service the temperature seemed pleasant. But it soon got warmer. And warmer. We all became a bit drowsy. During the long sermon, heads began to droop.

Now anyone could have got up at any time, flung open the rear doors, and let in some fresh air; I thought about it. But nobody did anything; we weren't sure if we would be stepping on anybody's territory, I suppose.

After the sermon, we sang a hymn -- very, very raggedly because we were all still drowsy. When the hymn ended, Igor the church organist got up from his keyboard, marched to the back and opened the rear door. As cool air wafted in, he hissed "Now, KICK IT UP A NOTCH!"

Whatever you call it -- orderly calm or sheepdom -- this sort of passivity is pretty normal human behavior for settled, comfortable people. (Igor, of course, is neither settled nor comfortable.) America has rewarded such behavior for much of the last 50 years. Only recently have conditions changed; and we haven't viscerally realized we won't be rewarded for staying in line.

Start getting mad about what's happening in the world -- how corporations and their stooges have destroyed our health care, our economy, our future -- or be prepared to sleep forever. A grouchy organist may not be nearby to save the day for you.