People are Social Creatures

By | April 7, 2022

[April 7, 2022]  “Don’t bunch up!”  Army Sergeant William Duchy yelled as a gaggle of new Privates was training how to conduct an attack on a simulated enemy position.  “Spread out!”  People are social creatures, and when under stress, people want to be physically close to one another.

As a young adult, I read about the American Revolution.  I wondered how soldiers could stand, shoulder to shoulder, and march into enemy cannon and rifle fire just a few yards away.  It would be the most frightening thing imaginable; facing sure death.  For me, it took tremendous courage.  How could they do this?

People surrounded by their friends and comrades will always show more courage than those alone.  This is a well-known military maxim.  When you are with your battlebuddies, your family and friends, or those you worked with closely for years; these people have your back.  It is easier to do something with courage with others near you.

Last year, I had the good fortune to talk with Hershel “Woody” Williams, a Medal of Honor winner from World War II.  He was awarded America’s highest honor for his bravery under fire on Iwo Jima.  In attacking a Japanese pillbox, he said:

I wasn’t thinking; I was just doing my job.  I had no memory of what I was thinking; instinct took over.” – Hershel “Woody” Williams

Mr. Williams tells us that there is an innate, in-born need to be with other people like us.  His “instincts” took over.  Yes, the social trait of humans is something we are born with.  Many social scientists claim this is a survival instinct, and it works.  This instinct is also reinforced through what we do every day.

Sergeant Duchy admonished us for bunching up because he knew from experience that is precisely what we would do under stress.  Warfare today means keeping your forces spread out to lower the chance a single explosion will kill many.  In the American Revolution, their military tactics call for staying close together.  Tactics do change, but the innate need for humans to be close to one another does not change.

We are, indeed, social creatures.

—————

Please read my new book, “Our Longest Year in Iraq,” on Amazon (link here).

Author: Douglas R. Satterfield

Hello. I provide one article every day. My writings are influenced by great thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Jung, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Jean Piaget, Erich Neumann, and Jordan Peterson, whose insight and brilliance have gotten millions worldwide to think about improving ourselves. Thank you for reading my blog.

24 thoughts on “People are Social Creatures

  1. Wendy Holmes

    General Satterfield is telling us something important here. While there are many messages inside this article, the one I like best is that if we view humans as needing other humans (for whatever reasons) then we can get a better understanding WHY they act as they do. Much can flow from this way of thinking.

    Reply
    1. Darryl Satterly

      True enough and exactly why I read this blog daily. Several of the articles I’ve posted on my worksite bulletin board and get some good feedback from coworkers. Of course, I work at a place where people actually work and not stand around whinnng.

      Reply
  2. Armywife

    Thank you General for your dedication to bringing us a well thought out article each day. If you enjoy the General’s way of writing, I encourage you to get his book Our Longest Year in Iraq. You can purchase it on Amazon. You won’t be disappointed.

    Reply
    1. Shawn C. Stolarz

      The Russians may have learned again what history teaches: that those who plan to win a short war often end up losing a long one.

      Reply
  3. Greg Heyman

    ““Spread out!” People are social creatures, and when under stress, people want to be physically close to one another.” INTERSTING! And yet we don’t teach practical psychology any more.

    Reply
    1. McStompie

      Right, psychologists are more interested in teaching that you can change your gender just by thinking about it, worse, they are into grooming very young children to change their gender thru chemicals and castration. The American Psychological Association is the worst kind of organization that supports this deviance.

      Reply
    2. Otto Z. Zuckermann

      — this is the heart – the main point – that Gen. S. is trying to make. We are both social and innate in ourselves as an individual. It is BOTH, not just social like the snowflakes that represent the basement dwellers like to tell us.

      Reply
  4. KenFBrown

    Another worthy, educational blog post by Gen. Satterfield. I hope, sir, that you continue along this line of thinking and perhaps one day publish a book on leadership.

    Reply
  5. Rowen Tabernackle

    Humans are indeed social creates and nothing is going to change that no matter how much Liberals wish it away.

    Reply
    1. Fred Weber

      When bad times come, these wishy-washy neo-tyrants will fall to the ground around us and beg for forgiveness. Those bad times (which they have caused) are just around the corner. Will Joe Biden get us into WWIII? 👀

      Reply
  6. Jeff Blackwater

    Today, in Gen. Satterfield’s Daily Favorites he has an article (Link below) that discusses the unconstitutionality of California’s law that discriminates based on race and sex AGAINST white men. This is what happens when you start ignoring reality and start thinking everything you think is morally right and everyone else should be censored. Good that it was declared unconstituional.
    https://legalinsurrection.com/2022/04/californias-corporate-board-diversity-quota-law-held-unconstitutional/

    Reply
    1. Lady Hawk

      Jeff, thanks!! Let’s not forget to read the DAILY FAVORITES.
      https://www.theleadermaker.com/daily-favorites-new/
      You are missing out if you don’t read these daily. There will always be a nut who ignores reality, like those that think Pres Biden is the greatest president since FDR. Those folks don’t operate in reality.

      Reply
      1. MrJohn22

        How would you like to have one of these nuts as a next-door neighbor? I do. Pain in the a$$.

        Reply
      2. Doug Smith

        Maybe if you talk to him enough, he’ll move away someplace where he is more comfortable like to LA or Chicago where crime is soaring and social services are failing. More liberals are virtue signaling there.

        Reply
        1. Lady Hawk

          Good comment. Already thought of that. I’m into staring him down and convincing my other neighbors to be overly kind to the young man because he exists in an alternative universe.

          Reply
  7. Frank Graham

    Another on-target article. Thanks Gen. Satterfield. Good basic article.

    Reply
    1. JT Patterson

      …. exactly why I read his articles and this leadership forum. I also get a chance to bounce ideas off of everyone and get feedback that helps.

      Reply
  8. Audrey

    Yes, good info yet I think most of us would rather get ‘socialized’ and not admit there is such a thing as inborn characteristics.

    Reply
    1. Bryan Z. Lee

      Right, if one cannot admit that there are innate traits, then everything becomes socially defined. Then, anything is possible. In other words, if you think it, it has to be true. That is the liberal mindset that is now corrupting our world.

      Reply
      1. Boy Sue

        Yes, corruption is at the heart of the neo-Marxist philosophy. What else could it be when it always takes the law or the barrel of a gun for force this on folks.

        Reply
        1. Donald S. Robins

          Trump is is Selma NC now. Great man who makes liberal heads explode. GreT entertainment. 🎆

          Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.