The Nonconformist

“It gives me great pleasure indeed to see the stubbornness of an incorrigible nonconformist warmly acclaimed.” 
― 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.