Ticky Tacky
Anyone old enough to remember the clever little 70s song about houses in the suburbs? "and theyre all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same". In a previous post I whined about conformity in regards to new vehicles around here and I perhaps overstated when I said they were "all" white trucks. There are actually lots and lots of subaru outbacks as well. This is an overwhelmingly conservative, republican voting area therefore conservatives are conformists and Ill stand by that. Debord saw it as part of "the colonization of everyday life , the submission of human socialability to the deadly solicitations (the lifeless bright SAMENESS) of the market."
Fortunately there are a few renegades. Up at the trailhead parking lot sat an old Nissan whose bumpersticker read "Feminism is the radical notion that women are people". Next to it a car adorned with "NO more Years ,Impeach Bush and Honor our Dead, Demand the Truth". And then a Subaru, but a very old, pre-outback model with Remove the Dam, Restore the River. And there sat my very own well worn Ford Escort shouting out "Support the troops, bring them home, Save Clean Water, and Fire (Conrad) Burns." Therefore Progressives are hikers and Ill try to stand by that as well.
posted by troutsky @ 8:26 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
"This is an overwhelmingly conservative, republican voting area therefore conservatives are conformists and Ill stand by that."
Can't say I disagree with you, but I think that the generalization can be made more broadly. Many liberals are conformists as well. Making it a case of idealogy seems to distract from the real issue, which is a lack of people thinking for themselves.
Can we agree that free-thinkers are not conformists? The key to me seems to be thinking for oneself, regardless of one's political philosophy.
I was being a bit snarky about the sorry state of analysis and the "broad brush" used by most commentators to categorize people and you are right about free thinking being the inverse of conformism.But can it be divorced from ideology? You seem to be implying a negative connotation to the word but I see ideology and political philosophy as a coherent way to systemitize ones "free thinking" which is necessarily based on a foundation of the work of many other thinkers.Free doesnt necessarily mean unique.
To my mind conforming is not just adopting a majority opinion but is a laziness in the process of analysis,intellectual lethargy in seeking information and weighing it against bias.My rant was as much against consumerism which I consider a destructive form of conformism and definately afflicts liberals and conservatives alike but I see more resistance from the left.Is the tendency of conservatives to participate in organized religion a symptom?
That is a good question. First though, in regards to consumerism, you are absolutely right. Occasionally I will listen to talk radio, and I am astounded at the commercials. I hope you are understanding that my marriage to capitalism is not always a happy one.
In regards to organized religion, I would say that you have stumbled upon something. Many people belong to a religion out of fear, and that I would see as a huge problem. At the same time though, many people reject religion out of a sort of anti-conformity, which is sort of the same thing.
In the end, it is immensely important to decide for oneself how to live. With TV telling us what to do, why would we bother thinking?
P.S. Did you read Gore's speech? I'm curious as to what you thought of it.
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