A technique that I use in my classes is to project an essay that I have written onto a screen in the front of the room while students write their own essays. I tell students to refer to my essay to get ideas, but not simply to copy what I have written. This practice works well in the beginning of the course, or as I introduce new essay types. Students often do not know where to begin. The essay that I provide is a starting point. When the students become more confident, I will no longer project sample essays. If they are having a difficult time, I tell them that they may use my opening paragraph (or an adaptation) to get themselves started. I also remind students that I have been teaching and writing a long time; they are not expected to write in a similar fashion as they begin learning the different essay types.
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Prompt: In 2001, The American Scholar published an excerpt from a talk given by English author Margaret Drabble. In her talk, Drabble claimed that "Our desire to conform is greater than our respect for objective facts." Using appropriate evidence from your reading, observation, and/or experience, write a carefully reasoned essay defending, challenging, or qualifying Drabble's assertion about conformity. (Source: AP Central)
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “To be great is to be misunderstood” and “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little philosophers, little statesmen, and divines.” I agree with Drabble’s assertion that human beings have a propensity to conform, and as a result objective facts become irrelevant. Unfortunately, the greatness that Emerson refers to has been rarely evident in times past, as well as in the present.
From an early age, we are encouraged to conform. Children are encouraged to “fit in” with their peers by the authority figures in their lives—parents, teachers, and religious leaders. For example, a parent suggests to his child the necessity to do as well as a peer in both sports and academics, regardless of whether that child has an interest in baseball or science. “Become a doctor or lawyer” like your uncle, a child may hear. Or, “There is no money in acting or art. How are you going to support yourself?” Comments such as these discourage individuality and eccentricity. It seems, in some respects, that as a society many are embarrassed by those people who do not desire to “fit into” a “respectable” career or style of living, when the objective fact is that not all of us are cut from the same mold. People like Thoreau, a true individual, who abandoned village life for a life in the woods, was considered strange and eccentric by others in his community. That same ethos is present today. To abandon a sensibility or point of view that contradicts what a larger group considers the norm, sets one up to be ostracized. American society, for example, celebrates extroversion. Susan Cain, in her book The Power of Introverts, claims that we too often denigrate and isolate the introverted personality, when in fact what we really need is a community that encourages more introversion and less “group think.” As Cain posits in her book, some of our greatest innovations come from those very people who are/were introverted: Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, the brilliant thinkers behind Apple Computers, were introverts. The examples of these innovators directly contradict what is considered an objective fact in our society--that “group think” and extroversion is preferential to introversion. The pervasive influence of their inventions has radically changed our world. In part, they are responsible for the Information Revolution that we are now experiencing. These non-conformists have produced great gifts for society and have changed the world through their technologies, yet they did not conform.
But we can look back even further in time to see the power of non-conformity and the resultant disparagement of individuals who chose to see the world in different ways when they based their opinions on objective facts. The great scientists of the Scientific Revolution were chastised and punished for insights that have led to vast progress for humankind. Consider Galileo, Newton, and Copernicus, for example. The Church fathers condemned their conclusions and these scientists, in most cases, had to recant their discoveries or keep silent. Even further back, Pythagoras and Socrates were condemned for their points of view. Socrates was put to death because he did not conform to the predominant belief in the Greek gods (which was considered a fact in that classical world) and because he encouraged the youth to ask questions about their existence.
Our movie industry is an example of conformity in action. If one film is a blockbuster, producers and directors will surely consider a sequel. How many more Scary Movies (titles of movie) do we need to sit through? Why do we presume that sequels will be more lucrative, when oftentimes they result in great financial loss for the movie company? On the political front, a fear of appearing weak led many of our leaders to vote in favor of invading Iraq. Hillary Clinton has admitted that she made a mistake by voting for the war, intimating in one interview that perhaps this decision was a result of her need to appear strong since she was a female politician. The facts at the time she made that decision were debatable. Boehner, the leader of the House, is now kowtowing to the far-right element of his party who want to see President Obama ousted or weakened. To appease that element of his party, he recently declared that he would pursue a suit against the President of the United States, even though he most likely knows that the suit will go nowhere.
Advertising is another realm where conformity is pervasive. If you are not thin, beautiful, and wearing the latest fashion, you are often less popular. Women, especially, are pressured to wear makeup, buy special cosmetics, even shave their armpits and legs to fit in and “conform” to societal norms. Men, too, feel compelled to build muscle mass, so they use testosterone and steroids to “pump up” their bodies. The anti-aging movement, as well as the field of Plastic Surgery, encourages all of us to stay young and beautiful and look a certain way. We need fewer wrinkles, bigger boobs, and smaller tummies is the message delivered. If not, we will not have fulfilled lives. The truth is that all of these things will not necessarily lead to a healthier, better, or more actualized life. And the objective fact is that we all get old, regardless.
Other examples of the desire to conform in the face of objective facts include the widespread disregard for the idea that humans are causing Climate Change, even though 99 percent of our scientific community says that this is the case. I’m also sure that in some fundamental religious traditions there are secret doubters, but rather than challenge their communities, they keep silent. The history of literature is replete with examples of characters who chose non-conformity. In many instances they ended up persecuted, killed, or committed suicide. I’m thinking of the classics The Scarlet Letter, Madame Bovary, Anna Karenina, and The Awakening, for example. These great works exemplify the notion that conformity to societal norms is expected and indisputable if one is to achieve a life of contentment. We know that this is not true, as evidenced by the earlier examples of the introvert innovators.
Yes, Drabble is correct. Our strongest desire, it seems, is to conform rather than face facts or adhere to what we believe is inherently true. Sadly, the world has suffered in the past from this cultural attitude but I am hopeful that there is opportunity for change as we move to a more globalized world that encourages cultural cross-communication, and demands a respect for divergent opinions about what is fact. We need this change if the world is to survive.
