Conformity

Conformity

Conformity is an issue that many of us disregard much of the time. It is something that you guys should think about. Why not think about it like this. Think about those times when the teacher would ask a question in class. Now, the answer in your head is surely correct you think to yourself. Nevertheless, when you look around the classroom, the majority have chosen an answer of the complete opposite! When the people who had raised their hands discovered that their answer was wrong, they would sit and wonder why they hadn't chosen the answer they had picked chosen initially. A vast majority of people will recall saying, "Everybody's doing it", a sentence that is one of the worst four-letter combinations in the English language.

Conformity involves basically, the changing of a person's attitudes, opinions, or behaviors to match those of the "norms" established by our society. Ralph Waldo Emerson considers the word "Conformity” a dirty word. He considers it the death of the individual and the enemy of originality. Take that into consideration for a moment. Without originality and individuality in our world, where on earth would we be! Without individuality, today's society would be filled with a population of followers rather that the leaders we know of. Can you as Americans imagine what our society would be like without leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, etc.? Our nation wouldn’t be nearly as strong as it is currently. Neither would we have much freedom, nor would we have many rights. These "individuals" who without a doubt refused to conform, have changed the lives of Americans forever.

Our humanity itself is based on our ability to exercise individual choice. The constant struggle between those who believe in the ideology of the governing body and those who choose to exist as individuals carries on each day. If you want a functioning society, there must be a considerable effort to eradicate the thoughts of the individual and turn them into a functioning part of a greater society. If this action is not put forth in any society, failure is bound to come into focus. Usually brutality and violence has been used to control these "rebels". Nonetheless, instead of using these means of controlling the members of a society, the ideas presented should at least be considered