Nonconformity, Part 1

Fifteen years ago, I painted a picture of a man sporting a business suit, carrying a brief case, and trudging down a narrow pathway that descended from the sky. It's a face of stone-he gazes stoically in front of him, his powerful jaw is set-grimness pervades the scene.

The man is the Everyman, walking a path made by everyone and everything that have ever existed, but who are not him. The painting conveys the sense of oppression that comes from the realization of one's station in life. You can see its weight pressing down upon his broad shoulders. It's the combined weight of present predictability, constant external control, and an ultimate fate beyond his choosing.

But we also see a stoic strength painted on his brow; a resolve as well as a hint of rebellion, a healthy hopeful angst. The narrow path of life,-the path made narrower by the alliance of religion, education, nationalism, ethnicity, gender, genetics, and all other forces thrust upon the individual without his express consent-these forces, will not guide him to his grave.  Not if he fights. Not if he triumphs over conformity.

These days I feel much the same as I did when I painted that picture as a freshman in college. My angst has not mellowed, nor has my determination to resist conformity weakened. Perhaps I'm more philosophical. I recognize that there does not exist entirely free courses of action, modes of thought, and ways to be. Even rebellion itself is a sort of conformity. Ultimately, free will may always be a dream kept alive by hopeful thinkers.

Fine. Even if we accept this proposition on one level, on another level there exists tipping points where real choices can be made. Maybe they're not entirely ours-external circumstances may bias our decisions. Our course of action may be predictable (by some hypothetical all seeing eye...). And we may rarely create the choices with which we are faced in the first place. But there is no denying that the most important decision of all is whether to pursue choice in life as well as the knowledge to make the best ones; or, rather, to avoid personal choice altogether by following the path of least resistance-by always doing what society expects of us.  

To choose or not to choose, that is the question. Depending upon how one answers this question, we can confidently predict how free one lives their life. If in the big picture we are never completely free, we can at least say that there is a freer and less free way to live. This is plain. A prisoner confined to a six by six foot cell is less free than a slave living on a plantation. An indentured servant might be more free than a slave but less free than someone engaged in ordinary contractual employment. And the ordinary workers with debt are less free than those without.

All of this is self evident. What is less obvious is the fact that we can be held back by more than concrete and steel bars, contracts, or lack of money. The latter are obstacles to freedom that require relatively straight forward if not always easy deterrent action (don't break the law, spend wisely, avoid slave owners...).  

I would like to examine the broader coercive, confining forces that are not so easily recognized for what they are. In many ways they are more sinister than physical bondage. They don't apologize for what they do. They pretend to free the soul, provide happiness, forgive sin, and define the purpose and meaning of our lives. These forces seek to control you by possessing your heart and programming your mind. If you offer them no resistance, you achieve absolute conformity. Using extreme language borrowed from Star Trek, we can say you become completely assimilated.

I believe we should resist those prevailing, dominant forces which, without an express awareness of their influences and a concerted effort to act freely for ourselves, would easily sweep us into their powerful currents and lead us to future destinations not of our own choosing. Personally, I'm not worried about adopting the thinking and lifestyles of people who have freed themselves from cognitive oppressors, like religion and nationalism. Specifically, its the mind control (which becomes life control) of these more menacing forces which demands passionate, energetic resistance by all those who value individual autonomy.

"Cognitive oppressors" sounds like something you might hear mumbled by a paranoid schizophrenic. I'm not worried about that impression. I have no doubt that cognitive oppressors are real, and are powerful historical phenomenon that to the present day undermine the integrity and liberty of the individual. Perfectly sane individuals could have an intelligent discussion about cultural phenomena and institutions that undermine freedom and the range of possible individual expression.  

All examples of cognitive oppressors achieve the end of greater conformity, but few succeed as well as religion.

If we're unlucky enough to be born into one, religion stakes a claim on our identity from the very beginning. We are taught fairy tales and told they are not only true, but contain the most important truths of our lives. Ingrained in these stories are rules of thought and conduct that we are expected to adhere to for the rest of our lives. We're told that our lives and afterlives depend upon whether or not we, in essence, surrender to religion's dictates.

Religion makes a lasting mental imprint upon our minds. We identify with our tribe's sect. Our religious pride and loyalty commits us to the policies of our religious leaders. We may simply strive to live according to our religion's basic principles. But we may also be called to serve, in peace or in battle.

Where, in a religious life properly lived, is there room for imagination, reason, or free choice? When you are born into a religion, or even a particular religious culture, you have not made a choice. You do not pick the rules, nor do you pick the ones worthy of obedience (not if you live righteously). Religious worship is well established by the time you enter this world. You may play a part; but only as a pawn expected to submit and sacrifice to the will of a greater authority. In short, religion is the antithesis of freedom.  Paradoxically, the individual is raised up only to be torn down.  You are what's most important.  But wait, its your purity and service to God that really matters.  

Its ironic that in this country, religious fundamentalists are so often the folks proclaiming their love of liberty. Perhaps these zealots are in fact living true to their dominant, conforming natures. After all, nationalism is nearly indistinguishable from religion. Both are cognitive oppressors.

Why would anyone be proud of something they were simply given at birth, like religious or national identity? Certainly, when ideals are well understood and considered, or when one achieves great things, pride is justified. But the gang-like allegiance and mentality underlying much of religious, national, and ethnic identity is utterly despicable. Truly these forces come to possess the minds and wills of people who may otherwise find their own voices and choose different paths in life.

Nationalism, like religious identity, stands unapologetically in opposition to rational thought. After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, reason became so compromised that in a few short years our national leaders were able launch an offensive war against a nation that had nothing to do with the tragedy in lower Manhattan. The rest of the world watched in amazement as a significant number of Americans protested against the violent agenda of their leaders and were utterly ignored. Instead, "Support Our Troops" magnets on the backs of SUVs and minivans filled the streets. The notion that opposing the government's policy towards Iraq was in some way NOT supporting America's soldiers was prevalent; yet the logical fallacy could only be made in a highly nationalistic environment.

Germany in the lead up to World War II perfectly illustrates how nationalistic pride easily trumps reason and morality.  One of the first subjects to really set my mind's internal gears spinning as a child was Nazism and the holocaust.  How could such an atrocity take place?  How could German citizens stand aside as millions of Jews were slaughtered in cold blood?  How could German soldiers, undoubtedly "ordinary" young men, actually take part in the killing?

There is no need to play the blame game.  People on both sides of religious debates charge that the other side is responsible for horrors like the Holocaust.  What seems to be indisputable is the fact that there was a sickening glut of conformity in Nazi Germany immediately prior to the Holocaust.  Thousands of minds became as one mind; and that one mind, best represented by Hitler himself, was demented.

It is disheartening in the extreme to witness the absolute loss of dignity that occurs when human minds are so easily possessed by charismatic leaders, powerful religions, tantalizing cults, popular trends, culture traps like gambling, political ideologies, etc, etc.  Morality has its foundation in the value of the individual.  When various forces lessen the individual, we risk losing track of what is right and what is wrong.

No one can ever be free from all influences, but the more we are aware of the major players, and the better we can sort out the influencers that are grounded in reason and respect for individuals from the forces that are not, the greater the chance we have to step off onto our own, unique path in life.