Recently I got to see Blue Man Group perform in Seoul, and it was fantastic! While I’ve seen their various shows and concerts before, it was with a new perspective that I watched them portray their commentary and musings on conformity, on group-think, and on the plight of modern man in a rapidly changing world. After living in East-Asia for nearly a year, I’ve had the chance to see first-hand how confusing it can be for a culture to try to keep up with all the changes that are happening, especially a culture that teaches conformity in every aspect of daily life.
It’s easy to point to others and say “I’m different than that person.” However, we all share a lot of common behaviors and knowledge, and we tend to act similarly to those around us. We are taught how to behave in different circumstance and different places, we are told what to eat and drink and wear and watch and do, and we are nudged by friends and strangers alike to live by many shared tenets and strategies, be they the Ten Commandments or the Golden Rule. Pressures to conform are all around us.
So are pressures to be unique. This is probably the biggest difference between the Orient and the West: Westerners are given the context to explore on their own, to develop into someone different in many ways from those around them. Orientals, on the other hand, are not; in fact, they are specifically denied this context. We all know this.
Hmmm… we all know this… but is it really true? Is it true that Orientals all think alike? Not really. Is it true that Westerners all think differently? Hardly! While as a single group we have many differences of opinion, belief, and desire, once you break us into various contingents and demographics, we are each just a face in the crowd. Given enough people, we can find even the most rare beliefs to be shared by hundreds, thousands, or even millions.
How many commonly-held viewpoints do we all know? Aren’t these beliefs themselves each an example of group-think?
My challenge to you is this: be different. Really different. Throw common sense into the limelight once in a while and inspect it. Challenge it. And most importantly, be willing to reject it. Do the same with anything that ‘we all know’.
For instance, ‘we all know’ that security cameras reduce crime. So then why is it that we keep finding that, in fact, they don’t?
Conventional wisdom is rarely wise. If anything, it’s simply a comforting way for us to fall into group-think, into not having to think for ourselves.
So challenge it. Ask yourself if you really understand the matter or if you’re basing your opinion on sound bites and over-simplified snippets of information, rather than having an opinion that is well-informed, well thought-out, and truly your own. Yes, it takes more effort to really understand the issues. Yes, you’ll be hounded by your peers for not doing things the way everybody else does. But that’s a good thing. That’s a strong indication that you really are different from those around you, that you’re not just another face.
It’s OK to be different. It’s OK to question common beliefs, conventional wisdom. In fact, it’s more than OK, it’s necessary if we want to fix the major problems in the world today.
Dare to be different.
Other news
- Attack of the Killer Tomatos: Tainted Tomato Cases Jump to 383 People in 30 States, D.C.
- Blame It on Rio: Science proves that bikinis turn men into boobs
- Caveman: Pursuit of Females Dates Way, Way Back
Quote for the week
Never allow anyone to rain on your parade and thus cast a pall of gloom and defeat on the entire day. Remember that no talent, no self-denial, no brains, no character, are required to set up in the fault-finding business. Nothing external can have any power over you unless you permit it. Your time is too precious to be sacrificed in wasted days combating the menial forces of hate, jealously, and envy. Guard your fragile life carefully. Only God can shape a flower, but any foolish child can pull it to pieces. - Og Mandino
From the editor
Sometimes I get a chance to really surprise people with an unexpected gift: this week I dropped in unexpectedly on my parents’ house so that I can attend my brother’s wedding this Friday. Of course, I write these in advance. As am writing this, I haven’t yet gotten on the plane. But by the time it goes live, if everything went well, I’m in Alaska for a few days with family.
It’s always nice to visit home, and this time especially so. This is (to the best of my recollection) the first time my mother has had all her immediate family together at once in about a decade or more. Other than the self-imposed stress of so many house-guests, I’m sure she’s beaming on the inside.
I’m back to Korea this weekend, but for now, it’s good to be home!
Healthy thoughts,
Jeff
