Good Morning Cyberspace.
I absolutely love a good TV show. One of my favourites, Mad Men, about ad men in the 1960s, has its season 5 premier episode this weekend. If you haven't seen the show, I highly recommend it.
Advertising is absolutely everywhere in our modern world. There's no getting away from it. One of the things that's been a repetitive in advertising for as long I can remember is the theme of individualism. Show who you really are through the things you own. I have some problems with this.
What shows your individuality? To me, there has to be something that sets us apart in order to be individuals. Maybe it is just the clothes you wear, the hairstyle you choose that day or the tattoo on your ankle you're so quick to show off. But to me, wearing a t-shirt that's been mass-produced and marketed across the county, continent or globe doesn't really show how you are unique. Walking into a tattoo parlour and spending an hour looking through the same books that everyone has looked through...that tattoo doesn't really have the effect you want - I've seen it before.
Originality is hard to find in today's society. I mean, look at the music industry. Music used to be an expression of self. Songs were written from the heart (or from wherever the last hit of acid took the songwriter) and had meaning. Modern mainstream has become nothing but image and computerized instruments and voices. Most of the most popular artists don't write their own songs. And most of the songs on the radio sound pretty much like a carbon copy of the one before. Art is another thing that has suffered - my daughter went on a class trip to the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia a couple of months ago and one of the exhibits was literally a pile of pennies. If a pile of pennies is worthy of being called art, then this blog is a damn masterpiece.
I think that part of the problem lies in a lack of confidence. Every magazine or movie tells us that if we look and act a certain way, everyone will accept us. In my experience, most people are afraid to be themselves. They are afraid of how they may look in the eyes of others. But why do we want to be accepted by everyone else? I know that all of my ideas may not be popular...I know that I may not fit in everywhere I go. I'm perfectly OK with that. I've surrounded myself with people who share my ideals, people who will express their own opinion even if it doesn't coincide with mine, people who aren't afraid of getting judged. If we are individuals, then shouldn't we be encouraged to express our own ideas?
So I ask you this Cyberspace - has the idea of individuality been used to bring out all of our inner consumers? Have the advertising firms been so successful in their 'act this way, be this way, live this way' type of campaigns that we do exactly the same thing as the next person and somehow think that sets us apart? Have they convinced us that in order to survive in modern society, we MUST be accepted by everyone else - accepted as a part of the group, with these small purchasable differences the only way to set us apart?
I'm not convinced. I can wear exactly the same shirt as 50000 other people and still stand out because I'm not afraid to speak my opinion. I'm not afraid to share my idea and have it rejected by everyone who hears it. I am myself, only myself and I only want to be myself.
So if you want to show me that you're an individual - don't go buy neon shoes and dye your hair pink...speak your mind and express your opinion. Nobody else will ever be able to express your beliefs - just be you.
Peace and Love
The Critical Stranger
As always comments and suggestions are appreciated and encouraged!
Well stated. You are very lucky and smart Stranger to have surrounded yourself with others who are open minded this way.I hope you will always do your best to protect this personal sanctuary. Unfortunately, some people, when they attempt to stand up for what they truly believe - or as they journey toward giving birth to their true nature - they find themselves wrestling with the enemy of individuality which wants to make an example of them. The radiant energy of youth becomes focused on surviving the tempest that is wanting to rule the free spirit. Individual nature becomes 'confused' 'isolated' and 'oppressed' . Individuality transforms to an emotional roller coaster that begins to tell the person "you are alone" 'and the only way some people can survive is to join the masses who get ahead via following the social norms and conforming. If they can hold on to their personal power or can pay the high price of staying isolated just long enough to not care, they will survive the artist within. This is a natural process, but it is shunned in modern society. Many, do not survive this cold, unfriendly and lonely period. It is especially difficult to outrun this if a person or group is in a desempowering relationship or situation where or when their personal and/or social circumstances outwit them. I think this is even more of a war when it is a young person who is trying to figure out their truth, becomes shamed by the power of jealousy and contempt.That transitional period is so very sacred but our society is afraid of it. When the mainstream begins to feel threatened by indivual thinkers and shakers (we can think of many examples here, but everyone knows the story of Jesus) it pushes back with its mighty power and threatens with human force -status, position or title - it labels, chastizes, locks away, condems, criminalizes and isolates the 'problem individual' and their supporters, until he or she is worn down and succumbs to the bullying of a social heirachy that abuses its power with no expectation for accountability. It is tiime for those who care to see the high price of not embracing this journey; not making those who squash it accountable. The unthinkable and horrific losses we suffer to maintain a heirachy is unintelligent and unjust for the majority. Jesus was not silenced - but he died first. We too, witness many who have died - either physically or spiritually because their truth was silenced. Let's give them a collective voice when and where we can. We can begin by listening and acting with our hearts as the sweet sound of the individual story within all of us unfolds.
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