American Irony

Why has individuality become so unfashionable lately? Although I can’t prove it, I sense it has a strong correlation to both the rise of political and social conservatism and religious fundamentalism. Cultural repression is not the byproduct of these; it is their Blue Plate Special. Historically, individuality in a culture of extreme conservatism usually gets you in big trouble. For many (Oscar Wilde springs to mind) it buys new lodgings - usually smallish accommodations with cheap furniture and bad lighting.

Present day America seems to be especially susceptible to this war on independence, individuality and “uniqueness” (for lack of a better word). What is shocking is how suddenly all this has come about. Wasn’t it just yesterday that we were told, “don’t be afraid to change”, “dare to be different”, or Apple Computer’s famously ungrammatical “Think Different”? We once celebrated the diversity of America as a cultural asset that made us better than homogeneous societies. Our individual differences and those ideas we brought from the varied cultures of whence we sprung opened the doors to free thought and expression. These concepts don’t work with political and religious conservatism. It is all about fitting in. If you are different and don’t at least make a great attempt to hide those differences (i.e. don’t ask, don’t tell) you are, at best, ostracized and at worst, damned for eternity.

How did we get here? Isn’t this what we all came to America to get away from?

After some thought, I have my own idea about why we are so susceptible to this dangerous groupthink that damns individuality, intellectual rebelliousness and free thought. Many American’s have ancestors who did not come here by choice. They were plucked from their homeland and brought here against their will. That is a factor of our culture so broad in scope that this short article is not worthy to address it, so I won’t begin to try. However, virtually everyone else in America left their native homeland to come here or is descended from those who did. We did so not because we had socially conquered the societies we came from and had nothing better to do. Sorry folks, we were not the belles of the ball or stars of the society pages. That being said, let’s get something straight. We are a nation of castoffs. We were the bottom rungs of our homelands, the political prisoners, the oppressed, the poor and the huddled masses yearning to be free. There! I said it! So what!

When we start to embrace this rather than frantically try to hide it, we shed a cultural neurosis that is a huge burden on our country today. Materialism, alcoholism, racism, violence, intolerance in the guise of religion, workaholic behavior, eating disorders, OCD – each of these are the byproducts of a sick society. We are sick because we don’t accept ourselves for what we really are. We are trying so hard to fit in because we (or our ancestors) didn’t fit in with the people and places we ran away from. We all came here with a chip on our shoulders. “I’m gonna show them. I’ll have more money and a bigger house than they do. I’ll be something someday. They’ll see, those elitist bastards!” We are obsessed with attaining the status we didn’t have as “huddled masses”. So we weren’t included on the guest list - get over it.

We have become the oppressors we ran away from. Just as oppression begets oppression, Elitism begets more elitism and ultimately we become that which we most despise. It is a deliciously American irony. Religious fundamentalism, political conservatism and the resulting loss of tolerance in our society is just another name for fitting in at all costs. God forbid we be different or question that which we know in our hearts to be wrong. It’s truly sad that most people aren’t willing to point out the cow manure we’re all standing in. I refuse to ignore the stench of hypocrisy and intolerance in America today. As a result I don’t necessarily “fit in”. It’s not always comfortable; it’s not always easy. It used to bother me a lot, that need to fit in. It bothers me less now. I probably suffer in my own way because of it but I’d suffer a lot more by selling out. True freedom for me comes from not really needing to get society’s approval. I’m not great at it. Heck, I’m not even good at it. But I’m getting better. I hope in this season of celebrating peace and sharing with others, we allow ourselves the joy of shedding the need for approval from a dysfunctional society. It is truly liberating to do so. Our petty need for societal approval is the nemesis of free thought and perhaps the demise of our culture.