“It gives me great pleasure
indeed to see the stubbornness of an incorrigible nonconformist warmly
acclaimed.”
― Albert Einstein
― Albert Einstein
The dictionary meaning of
the word, ‘nonconformist’ is a person who does not behave the way most people
behave, i.e. someone who does not conform. This word was coined in England
especially to refer to a person who does not conform to the Church of England, clearly
with a negative overtone.
Forward nearly 400 years
from then, today being a nonconformist is hip thing. A common trend I have
observed is that almost everyone from the younger generation in India claims to
be a nonconformist. Are they really? The harsh reality is that there are very
few ‘real nonconformists’. Wearing a T-Shirt with Che Guevara printed on it,
does not make you, a rebel or a nonconformist. In fact I find the young breed
of Indians to be bunch of cowards, with almost identical plans for future,
waiting eagerly to follow someone, who obviously has to be conformist.
Unreasonable similarity in plans has evolved because of prevalent conformism. Furthermore,
an ironic observation is that each self-proclaiming nonconformist has exact
same complains against the system, but is extremely likely to follow the tried
and tested path. A prerequisite to be nonconformist is the ability to think
for yourself, and develop original ideas, which you later conform to.
Conformity is ingrained in
the culture to such a level that going against the norms is considered transgression.
I interact with so many people these days and can clearly highlight the trend
of making choices, based on someone else’s experience. It starts at the college
level, with students choosing the classes based on other’s opinion but not out
of own interest. Ditto in choosing higher educational institutions (in country
and abroad), places of work, to name a few. And the patterns of conformity become
increasingly clearer with age. More than students, the employed 20-30-something
are known for their extremely similar choices. Buying a house in the same
neighborhood, going out to the same restaurants, buying the same brand of cars,
shopping at the very same mall, and I could still go on and on. Conformity
should be a subject of delight for a targeted marketing professional, in boosting
sales.
There are both, pros and
cons, in being a nonconformist. This should certainly not encourage those who
are not, to claim themselves to be one. My personal feeling is that the world
would be more productive and creative, if more people had the ‘everyone-is-doing-it-so-why-should-I’
attitude, instead of ‘everyone-is-doing-it-so-why-shouldn’t-I’. Well, but that’s
just me, a genuine nonconformist.
