The Inner Ring

In this address to at the University of London C.S. Lewis talks about the reality of social hierarchies or Inner Rings as he calls them.  Everyone comes across the Inner Rings all throughout their social lives.  He says, "You discover gradually, in almost indefinable ways, that it exists and that you are outside it; and then later, perhaps, that you are inside it."  Each of these rings or cliques have their own slang, nicknames, and manners.  He adds this:
"It is not easy, even at a given moment, to say who is inside and who is outside.  Some people are obviously in and some are obviously out, but there are always several on the borderline."
Lewis says:
"There are no formal admissions or expulsions.  People think they are in it after they have in fact been pushed out of it, or before they have been allowed in: this provides great amusement for those really inside."
Lewis also talked about how the ring is referred to differently from the inside than from the outside.  From the inside it is called "You and Tony and me," but from the outside it is referred to as "So-and-so and his set" or "That gang."

This piece beings back a flood of high school memories.  I went to a small private school, so there were not very many Inner Rings to choose from.  This further increased the pressure to fit into one of them or to fit into the right one.  Looking back, I remember people, including myself, doing the dumbest things to try to get into a certain Inner Ring.  People engaged in lifestyles and activities that they would never actually choose to do if they were being themselves, but they did it for the sake of trying to get into a certain ring.  Most of the time this kind of desperate behavior didn't even work and it simply provided "great amusement for those really inside."  It is very true when Lewis says, "One of the most dominant elements [in men's lives] is the desire to be inside the local Ring and the terror of being left outside."  This terror of being life is a huge insecurity that doesn't allow people to be who they really are.

Lewis then goes on to talk about what he thinks about Inner Rings.  He says:
"I am not going to say that the existence of Inner Rings is an Evil.  It is certainly unavoidable."  It is not Inner Rings themselves that are the problem according to Lewis.  He is more concerned with the the desire that draws us into Inner Rings.  He says that this desire is one of the chief drivers of human action.  If this desire is allowed to run loose it will lead a person to become a "scoundrel."  This desire can lead one to neglect and shake off real friendships in order to try to be on the right side of the invisible line.  Lewis says, "Of all the passions, the passion for the Inner Ring is most skillful in making a man who is not yet a very bad man do very bad things."

The last quote was my favorite from the entire piece.  It is a quote that is extremely sad but extremely true.  The pressure to fit into a certain group can cause someone to do things to others that they would not have previously thought they were capable of.  I have had it several times in my life where I get to know someone on a one-on-one level and they seem like a great person.  Then I would be shocked to see that person treating others of myself very badly and be shocked.  I eventually noticed the pattern.  People are so insecure and long to be accepted so much that the entire way that they treat people is completely based on the group that they are hanging out with.  This reality is sad and needs to be addressed.  We should strive for consistency in how we treat everyone despite who is around.