For instance, no one is teaching our children that rejection and bullying are reflections of one's own relationship with oneself. In rejecting others, a person is revealing the rejection he feels for himself. If an individual looks inward with this awareness, he is in a position to recognize the ways in which he doesn't like himself, to understand that this dislike is irrational and emotional, and to begin to appreciate and love his true being. In this process, we see the fallacy of blaming others for our emotional reactions and we are less likely to act out antagonistically or violently toward others. Cliques are a fact of life in the nations schools.
Students use the cliques acceptance and validation to override their inner doubt and conflict.
The same dynamics are at work in students who become members of gangs or students who succumb to peer pressure to begin smoking. But our schools aren't teaching our kids how to get along with each other. When psychology classes are taught, the course material is simplistic and homogenized, and more likely to focus on the behavior of rats in a cage than on the emotional plight of students trying desperately to come into harmony with themselves and others. Many mental-health professionals discount the influence of subconscious forces and describe violence as learned behavior. When we are brave enough to face ourselves, we see our capacity for evil and violence in our human nature.