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Today's
Meditation:
What
are we doing to our children when we tell them that things
can't be done in a certain way, simply because
"that's not how it's done"? What are we
doing to them when we encourage them to
"conform" because we want to spare them the pain
and anguish that may result when others see them as
"different"? How many of the most
important scientific, medical, and philosophical advances
in the world never have happened because the people who
had the ability to make those advances were convinced that
the most important thing they could do was to think like
everyone else and to do things the way they were told?
"Go
with the flow," we're told; "Don't make
waves." "This is how you're supposed to
act in this situation." What purpose do these
admonishments have other than to maintain the status quo,
to keep comfortable the people who are comfortably
established in their ways of doing things?
Of
course, there are completely inappropriate ways of acting,
especially those ways that bring harm or shame to others,
but shame is often self-defined; one parent may be ashamed
at his or her child's behavior, while another may be
grateful that the child is demonstrating a bit of
individuality and letting his or her personality shine
through.
Am
I corrupted if I believe that the people who think alike
are more admirable and estimable than those who think for
themselves? If no one thought differently, then
where would our innovations come from? How would we
ever advance beyond the status quo? Corruption isn't
just moral or ethical in nature--rust is a form of
corruption, one that eats away at its host like a
parasite, constantly making it less than it was the day
before. The belief that they should hold in greater
esteem those who think alike is a form of rust, something
that doesn't allow our young people to grow beyond the
limitations already established by those who do think
alike.
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