Individuality Vs. Conformity. How far do you take conformity before you lose your individuality? To me it seems insane to become like the Borg, assimilated into the collective where my views become whatever is the popular view, my look is the socially acceptable look, my activities are the socially accepted activities. Why is it that many conformist seem so angered by individualist?
"Conformity or individuality, the societal or the individual, to stand in or to stand out, these are the decisions we make and who we are. In our lives it is a constant battle between figuring out who we are as individuals and wanting to be accepted by others. Our individual history is written on these two concepts. The individual stands up and stands out. He is the one who begins a revolution and starts a social movement. He is not afraid of the consequences but accepts that his individuality is worth more than succumbing to the norms others so easily have accepted. And as heroic and inspiring as this individual may appear to the onlooker, even though we too dream of being that brave and audacious, we are more than comfortable joining the crowd and, if I dare be too cliche, fading into the sea of faces. While we as people want to claim our individuality as something so different from others and hold onto it, we are more willing to push that aside to conform to societal norms in order to be accepted by others. We are in a tug-of-war game between being a leader and being a follower, between being the individual and being the conformist." http://cultureproject410.blogspot.ca/
Everyone is a combination thereof, really. I voted "individualist" since it is more emphasized in my worldview and values. I dress comfortably rather than in adherence to current fashion, am more laid-back and simple in my hygiene habits than most American men, have deviant views regarding religion, have uncommon prescriptions for society derived from an even more so amalgam of influences, am inclined to reject or otherwise ignore several aspects of pop-culture (e.g. contemporary music genres and bands, reality TV, interest in the lives of celebrities), regard traditions and customs of mainstream culture with suspicion - deviating from them whenever a good rationale can't be found for why they are adhered to (e.g. churchgoing, traditional marriage ceremonies, funeral attendance, keen interest in physical sports, or something more abstract like striving to be "masculine"), prefer to bike or walk or use mass transit rather than own a car, and pursue my own passions in life rather than mimicking others - despite that tendency making my lifestyle seem weird. Being "normal" has not been a goal of mine now for many years, and I honestly resent it when other folk try to pressure me into thinking and behaving more like themselves. A line must obviously be drawn somewhere though. I wear clothing, speak English, am polite, use conventional gestures in communication, am still mostly socialized, and so forth. When it comes to understanding society, likewise, I reckon it is foolish to strive for either extreme in perspective. By the way, it will be interesting to see whether anyone votes "conformist" in the poll. I suspect conformists will choose the answer that makes them feel most mainstream, which is certainly not going to be the conformist option due to its generally authoritarian, collectivist, negative, and more fundamentally "un-American" connotations. Ironically, in the U.S. standing in may be seen as a form of standing out, yeah? Or maybe ours is a more communitarian society than I think?
That was deep dude! Seriously, a very good point. I agree, America, the land of the free... where the majority wants to make the minority fall into line... sometimes feels like that anyway. Except now the majority is in danger of becoming the minority and it scares the hell out of them. But I suspect that many in the majority would view themselves as individualists and not conformists. My old man likes to give me shat about my long hair. One day while walking through the Mall he asked me to look around at all the men with short hair. Then he started pointing out how men can wear short hair in many different ways. To me he may as well been saying "you are free to wear your hair any way you please so long as it is short"... which is limiting (not free).
Because they've discovered someone capable of living in a way that's foreign to them... conformists need the "strength is numbers" bit.
Is it safe to say that Soviet Russia maintained a more conformist based ideology ? If you didn't conform, contribute and venerate Stalin you were an enemy and either interrogated, incarcerated in prison camps or killed. On a political/social and economic level, Russia was opposite of the United States. Even with the looming encroachment of collectivism I think we're still very much a country based on individualism here in the U.S. That being said, I'm predominantly an individualist. There is no collective right except for the individual rights of each individual in the group. lol That might sound like a tautological statement but I'm sure you pick up what I'm putting down. With no cognition of one's self or (ego) you're basically one with the herd (conformist). Altruism is precisely that. With Altruism you're considered sacrificial with no sense of self or value and alive to serve others. And if value does exist in this Altruism, it is usually surrendered to the herd. I don't lead a life void of helping others, but it isn't my all encompassing goal. Break free from conformity.
I don't think anyone is 100% an individual. We all do things to impress people in our lives, mostly loved ones and authority figures. That being said, I'm a combination. Online here is my true personality. Out there in the real world, I try my best to show my real self, but end up hiding certain portions of it to avoid dealing with the repercussions.
You're yourself here because you being online affords the luxury of anonymity. We're all individuals in the "real world", it's just that social pressures aren't something you're willing to buck.
I too see myself as a mixture of both. On the forums here I am more opinionated and aggressive than I am in real life. But I use the forums to hash out some things so I can speak more productively on issues in public when the topic of the day comes up.
As I have become older I am not always swayed by popular opinion. I take the time to weigh popular opinion against my own morality and ethics. Much to the chagrin of some of my family and friends I can take a firm stand on something that they oppose. Sadly most of my life I just went with the flow for no other reason than to not make ripples. I wish the old me could go back in time and slap the young me upside the head.
I started out very wild & rebellious when I was younger, I have definitely become a bit more socially conformist, albiet not much I probably care more about what some people think (friends, family, my husband) that I did previously, but probably still way less than most people do.
I said other with emphasis on the individual and the requirement of assimilation to the values and beliefs that made my country great to begin with...
