I finally got around to reading the classic western tale of
The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark. It tells of a rush to judgment with the report of a rancher's murder and the rustling of his cattle. As the story progresses rumors fly and the strong hot-heads intimidate others to follow along with their quest to find the wrong-doers and punish them. The sheriff is out of town and the "mob" is all right with that; they will take care of the problem without the backing of the law. After riding several hours in the dark the group finds three men with a small herd of cattle. The leader of the three tries to convince the posse that the seller of these cattle promised to send the bill of sale, but without it no amount of arguing convinces them of their innocence, and they are hung from a tree. Soon the sheriff and the "murdered" rancher show up to tell them of the mistake the mob has made, and the story ends with feelings of guilt and denial of participation in the affair.
I wonder how different is the reaction of the mob in the book from the groups in today's political scene. With so many "experts" spouting wisdom without letting facts get in the way of a good prejudice the mob follows along. It takes work and concentration to ferret out the facts of any case and most people are not willing to put it out.
