Uniqueness Vs. Conformity

UNIQUENESS VS. CONFORMITY


Chuck Gallozzi, a scholar who has published several works and studies on social matters, stated in one of his articles: “Follow a crowd and you will never be followedby a crowd”. There seems to be an eternal conflict between the expression of uniqueness and the social conventions set to establish order and organization. In spite of the fact that today’s societyowes all progress, discoveries, and breakthroughs to those few people who had the courage to be different, it is common that voices which speak up differently are silenced. What is more important, then:to follow the social conventions and lead a stable life, or to take the risk to be different and live according to personal convictions?
If a person has the courage to express different ideas, toact differently, to dress in another style, etc. the most likely result will be that the person becomes an outcast. The other individuals who form a society will stop including that person in theirgroup, for he or she brakes the uniformity established. However, that person will be free to do according to his or her convictions and will not be bothered. There is a popular saying that claims“Absence makes the heart grow fonder”. But is this the final solution? There are plenty of psychological and social studies that prove that a person cannot live alone. Every human being needs a peer to shareexperiences and ideas, to communicate with and someone to fin support in. This situation leads, then, to an evident contradiction.
As a matter of fact, society is based in contradictions,inconsistencies and paradoxes. It is a system constituted by living beings, and so it is bound to change continually. Although the benefits of conformity are several and evident, it is impossible to agree withevery feature of a society. In the same way, it is always impossible to disagree, or to be completely individualistic. There needs to exist conformity in order to break free from it and express...