In the 21st century society in North America seems to be caught in the loop in which some trend or product emerges causing everyone to jump on the bandwagon. For some reason, most of us feel the need to acquire it or join the group. Yet, at the same time it appears we all want to be individuals. "Our own self." But for people who truly are unique individuals the same society gives them a great deal of grief. Pick any group or activity which is considered on the margin and you will find this to be true.
From my perspective that desire to jump on the bandwagon part of the group is an indication of a society which is insecure as a whole and can only lead to conflicts when people within the group do indeed try to be themselves and unique. As the world gets smaller and more interconnected I think the human race needs to face a fact:
The members of our society must moving forward learn to think and grow beyond just reacting to desire and fears. This is going to take a fundamental shift on all levels but I believe it can be done and needs to be done. An example of what just brought this train of thought to mind:
I was just speaking with a friend who has a relatively new wheelchair and a fairly expensive one. The process of getting medical equipment can be a rather complicated endeavour, but like everything else you need to do research and the person involved who was going to benefit from the equipment must be integral to the undertaking.
In this case that did not happen the chair is not balanced properly so that it tends to tip forward whenever they stop and I don't mean by a small amount. If they have any kind of momentum and then have to bring the chair did was stop quickly the back wheels slipped entirely off the ground. This is a huge oversight when the chair was selected and calibrated. This should never have happened. Yet it is an indication of people not thinking, although I find myself amazed that they could miss this. Now the chair must be taken apart and any additions that need to be put on me have to be modified or made to fit. This is a whole lot of work and it's not going to be cheap.
When I was involved with the design of my current chair it took a year from beginning to completion with many fittings and adjustments. I was totally involved in the process and as a result I received one of the best devices I have ever used. But it's obvious that this was not the case with my friend. They and the team that was assembled to purchase the chair obviously were not used to thinking in detail. This is an example of the bandwagon approach to life. I'm willing to bet the price of the chair was the guiding factor when it should have been the person who's going to be using it.
From a wider perspective when a whole society starts to approach life this way no wonder there are some money unresolved issues. I think the education system needs to place a much greater emphasis on creative thinking and awareness and go beyond fields of super specialization. So back to the question of why be normal. Because normal does not encourage thinking and involvement. To be your self however means to be involved and when you are involved although it is frequently much more difficult what you end up with is infinitely better. As the saying goes: "To look at the big picture." What do you think?
Feel free to leave your comments
Take care Patrick
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