United by Red

Life is complex.  We think we have so much knowledge and understanding, yet surprises keep popping up after every twist and turn.  So it's little wonder that we crave for some 'anchors' that keep our ships in check whilst we bob up and down on the waves.  Maybe we are looking for a purpose beyond basic survival or perhaps we just like to follow others and reinforce an established common goal....like football....forgive the pun!

I have never been passionate about football, although I do enjoy a good game whether watching on television or, as I did the other day, whilst sitting on a London bus stuck in a traffic jam, observing a game in a park with lads who looked to be as committed as any English Premier League player.  But watching the occasional game is not the same as being committed to a football club, as a player, manager, support staff or fans.  For many, like the players and managers, the commitment can be short-lived, being, for example, with Arsenal one season and Manchester United the next.  But for fans the commitment is very often for life, boy and man, girl and woman.  Manchester United, for example, has fans all over the world and from every region of England.  They don't all come from Manchester!  They are from all races, religions, political affiliations, jobs and professions, but United by Red.  In any large group there are bound to be dysfunctional elements who practise racism, sexism and vandalism, which gives the media an ideal opportunity to focus on the unacceptable face of football to help sell newspapers.  United by Red will not, however, be destabilised by anti social behaviour, the unity of purpose provides a secure and stabilising influence in the supporters' lives.

In business life, unity of purpose is also an essential ingredient for success.  United by Apple could well be a slogan for the world's most successful computer manufacturer, although I hasten to add that's not its strap-line!  All companies are united by a desire to out-perform their competitors and maximise their market share, i.e. their position in their 'league table'.  Yet in companies, as in the world of football, there are undesirable practices, which might temporarily sour a company's market reputation but rarely tarnish the corporate desire to succeed.

In political life a common purpose can also mask abhorrent acts.  In Hitler's Germany, for example, racism, especially anti semitism, was a central feature of the regime.  Many Germans, however, turned a blind eye to the atrocities directed by Adolf Hitler, whilst in the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazis restored economic stability and ended mass unemployment.  Extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of the Autobahns.  The return to economic stability boosted the regime's popularity and provided a unity of purpose.

So it is evident that we homo sapiens seek and are driven by unity.  Yet we will accept the positive and negative aspects of that unity.  That begs the question, how bad does the unacceptable face of unity have to be before we no longer want to be part of the united front?

United by Red....So what's your Red?