Do you remember the social hierarchy in the high school cafeteria? You sat at tables according to your social status. You had the jocks, the brains, the nerds, the skateboarders, the preppies, etc. These groups were in a definite hierarchy but even being on the lowest rung was better than being in no group at all because no one wanted to be an outsider. The worst thing you could do was to "mess with the status quo." This experience was captured and put to song in Disney's "High School Musical" (play YouTube clip). The reason I mention this is because it illustrates the powerful desire that we all have to belong. We want to belong to that inner circle. We want to be an insider, not an outsider. This desire is so powerful it can be dangerous.
