Wednesday 15 October 2014

Conformity is Overrated

"He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away." - Raymond Hull

The family recently rewatched Disney's Princess and the Frog.  It's a well-done take on the classic story and the soundtrack is excellent and peppered with jazz.  One song in particular "Dig a Little Deeper" drives the point home that wants and needs are two entirely different things, and it's who you are that matters most.

In a strange way, this reminded me of the dark times I was having at the end of my first marriage.  My spirit had been crushed by mental abuse and being forced to be what everyone else wanted.  One song that helped inspire me to finally get out was from a kid's show, of all things: "Put One Foot in Front of the Other" from Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

A great deal of the inspiration in my life has been caused by music, and I'm truly glad that my husband understands that. We frequently have music of some form playing in the house. But I digress.

Conformity is overrated.  Unfortunately many young people are shoveled through the school system and taught that individuality is a detriment.  Too many parents try to foist their own dreams on their kids so they can live through them instead of with them.  The world would be a very boring place if everyone did the same things and thought the same way.  We would not have much art, music, or other forms of creativity.  Indeed, a great number of schools have already reduced or axed their art and music programs due to lack of interest or funding.

We are not robots.  Granted, there are times when one must conform and/or obey orders - if you're in the military for one.  But overall conformity just doesn't seem like a very "human" thing to me.

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