Why America Needs Less Mindless Conformity

Answering the question "What do I want to do with my life?" is difficult for everyone, especially with the incredible pressure to conform in almost every walk of life.

Think about it for a second. If you are in Washington, D.C.'s Republican/Democratic Establishment circles, it is considered nothing short of disgusting or fringe to think we should, for instance, set an exit strategy in Iraq, or renegotiate the corporate-written "free" trade deals that are wreaking so much havoc on our middle class. If you are in business, you are considered weird for keeping in mind anything other than the bottom line, no matter what laws and ethics you have to break. If you are in media, you are considered a freak if you suggest reporting on serious issues instead of Michael Jackson, if you suggest putting on air anyone other than the same tired, old, out-of-touch Beltway pundits who regurgitate the same idiotic talking points. But as San Francisco Chronicle columnist Mark Morford tells us, conformity is exactly what the powers that be want - and is exactly what we shouldn't give them.

Morford is always an engaging writer - and this piece is nothing short of one of his best. As I take a break from finishing up my book and head to Flathead Lake this weekend, I suggest you read his piece in full. It really explores how the powerful cocktail party class that dominates so many aspects our daily lives shuns those who try to constructively challenge the status quo. Worse, this same powerful class has created a conventional wisdom among even us ordinary folk that questions those who challenge the status quo - even though many of those "challengers" are often trying to improve things for everyone.

In the movie "The Usual Suspects," Kevin Spacey says "the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." Likewise, the greatest trick the insulated Establishment and Corporate America ever pulled was convicing ordinary Americans they can't change things, they can't make a difference, and they must become just another cog in a directionless corporate system that ignores anything other than the quest for profit and the desire to make more "things" (whatever they may be). It just isn't true - and the sooner we realize that, the sooner we will be on our way to really addressing the fundamental challenges facing this country.

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