The War on Individuality
Individuality is bad business.
Being too individual is often seen as wrong or even scary.
Expression which deviates too far from the norm can be judged as bad for society or bad for children.
The idea is that self-expression must be contained within the parameters that already exist.
This idea of preserving status quo is one of the legacies of our religious past.
Traditional religiosity subliminally communicates that change is bad.
Our religious past says that we can only accept one version of the truth by God, which is seen as unchanging no matter if it happened 3000 years ago.
The world changes every week, so how much will it change every 1000 years?
We hold on to ancient traditions out of fear of the unknown, but we can’t change unless we are willing to embrace the unknown.
Traditional religious-type conservatism says that self-expression must not deviate too far from what already exists, because what already exists is the only thing that is legitimate and right.
I’m pleased to say that we have started rebelling against draconian ideals of normal expression.
Freedom of expression is now the new free speech.
People are tired of being like everyone else.
In order to become more free in our individual expression we have to stop our habitual practice of doing this one thing:
APPROVAL SEEKING.
We have become approval mad.
The common ways we disapprove are via ignoring and rejection, as well as projection of disgust, for example calling things ugly or unattractive.
In extreme cases we disapprove through verbal or physical punishment.
I do not like to genderise anything, but this is particularly true amongst young women. (I find).
When we are entrenched in a mentality which says that our value depends on whether we are approved of, then difference becomes ugly.
Our obsession with how we look for example, is largely based on an idea that says that if we look good, then we are approved of.
When we don’t look good, or attractive, we are not approved of.
When our sense of value is so heavily dependent on approval, then anything that cannot be approved of is unattractive.
What we have here is a culture that is at war with individual expression.
Deciding that there should be a confinement on the way God can be expressed, is like shaking a can of coke, opening it, and expecting it not to spill.
You know when you look at old photo’s and everyone looks the same?
Is that really what we want for ourselves?
BORING!!
If together we are the totality of God’s expression, then for God’s sake let’s have some fun and shine God’s Light in an infinite spectrum of colour, vibrancy and creativity.
Darn it.
Peace. Love. Dopeness
Chaun
