Clap, clap...clap.........

I just watched the movie Elf and a thought occurred to me. There is a scene at the end where one person starts singing with the goal of everyone else joining in. It is a typical sort of scene, oft repeated in many different movies and TV shows, usually at Christmas, but not always. Sometimes it is one person starting to clap, and everyone else starts clapping. The thought that occurred to me is this: the most courageous person is the first person who joins in.
You see, when someone is doing something like that, something new and weird and different, that is brave and courageous, and almost always done by someone who is naturally disposed to do that - a risk taker, a derring-do junkie. It is in their nature to take a chance, to push the boundaries. Yes it takes courage, but that is not unusual for them.
But what about the second person, the one who follows. What about the person who decides to join the rebellion, so to speak. In a group social setting, it is hard to break the norms and take that step. Most people won't do it, that is just human nature. When one person began singing, or clapping, it is easy for the group to just ignore it, or to raise an eyebrow and declare that person weird or a malcontent leaving them to flounder on their own. An episode of Family Guy shows this when they have a scene where, in a feel-good movie, one person would start clapping, being joined by the rest of the group momnets later. But in this episode, the first person begins clapping and no one joins him until he eventually stops, looking dejected. That is the easy route for people to take: don't take a chance or show any emotion because that is so lame. So they don't. But in other cases, when the second person joins in, they are in essence telling the group that they are wrong. They have to take the step that turns the weird, outrageous action into something acceptable. It is the second person who takes that action and makes it something that everyone can do without judgement or fear of recrimination.
Sometimes, following is the hardest part!