Anonymity perpetuates when anonymity becomes an easier state to be in... the "Where’s Waldo" syndrome. In this particular case, two conflicting human desires clash: The desire to be an individual, and the desire to be part of the group. I don’t know how most people take these two opposing forces in stride; I do know that a person is a very, very social animal, and being accepted and welcomed is always a bonus. To that end, gone are the times when people other than boring presidential hopefuls get together to debate, to talk things out, to exchange ideas, to build upon one another’s store of knowledge and come to ultimately farther-reaching conclusions.

I can’t see the pleasure in having the memories of three hours of spastic screaming, gyrating, and laughing at a joke that you don’t get and only half-heard. I can’t comprehend why a person would be willing to stroll through a crowd, getting jostled by people who can’t dance dancing, enjoying the multitude of marijuana and bad perfume, just so they can be seen out in public. How can you prove your point in such circumstances? How can you counter an argument with an argument of your own when you can’t even hear your own voice? How can you ask a person about their most personal and embarrassing experiences with two hundred people going psychotic all around you to the sound of music that can’t even be heard because the guy on the instrument panel is drunk and hooked on crack?!?

Perhaps I’m going just a tad overboard, but as always, I use exaggerations to demonstrate my point. There’s a small group of people (if you really want to know who it is, ask me) that I would love to get together, sit all four of us down (yes, there’s only four... including myself), and just TALK. Who knows how long... an hour, two, three, ten, twenty. Who cares? Unless I’m greatly mistaken about these three other people’s personalities, we could go on for days, constantly building on one another’s ideas, each giving our own personal viewpoints and ideas and mixing them together, a melting pot of philosophy, ethics, beliefs, thoughts, desires, hopes and dreams. Wouldn’t that be better than a couple hours of partying? The knowledge that can be gleaned from a marathon discussion such as this? Here’s a question to truly ponder: How much better off are you after you go to a large party? Or after you go clubbing? Now compare that with the self-improvement that can be brought about by spending several hours just TALKING. I can’t see any better way to meld your ideas with someone else’s to create a new entity, a single being composed of two (or even more) minds. Would this not be a source of great power?

Baring your soul to others supposedly brings about spiritual renewal... so it would stand to reason that baring your mind would bring about intellectual renewal.