Ear Ring Inference - a social commentary.

I go to Church, but I am not above a role in the hay now and then. To wear an ear-ring in the left ear is thought to be a social statement to the effect that you "know." While this may appear to be standardized, it is by no means universally agreed what exactly it is that the individual in question should "know." Since people who "know" cannot be categorically said to never go to Church, it must be inferred that in Church, some people "know" and some people do not "know." Posit that this arbitrary knowledge is bartered in the population for sexual favors. In the context of Church, this implies a hint of moral blackmail. Extending the analogy, in a small group this might be a problem but in a large group relative anonymity might keep this problem in abeyance. However, in a large group Church contributions are large enough to fight over. Whether the group is small or large, this alleged moral blackmail can get out of hand. In those situations, it can extend into individuals making power plays to govern the use of the money and associated influence. I have seen a rare "snapshot" of something like this in literature, in a short story by the American author Nathaniel Hawthorne called "Young Goodman Brown." More commonly, it may be argued that cult leaders employ a rule based system to mimic or commandeer such a social phenomenon for their own purposes.