We are living through the most mindless conformist era in the history of humanity. Mindlessness and conformity go together. If you're mindless, you are likely to rely on others to tell you who you are. If you are a conformist, it's unlikely that you are willing to form beliefs, thoughts, and opinions that could separate you from the mainstream.
As much as I hate politics, this is a good example of mindless conformity at work. Most Americans embrace partisan conformity. The parties differ on a lot of issues but also have a lot of overlap. Human rights, Constitution, economic policy, the environment, education, the LGBTQ+ community, individuality, and more are different topics. With most Americans, if you know where they stand on one of those issues, you know where they stand on all of them.
RINO is essentially conformist terminology. It's the idea that Republicans who don't fully conform to the Republican mindset aren't really Republicans. They're something less. What does that say about the people using that terminology? I can guarantee that there are no non-conformists treating RINO as an insult.
Democrats are even worse. They are absolutely villainizing their own if anyone isn't a 100% match with their party's leaders. The reason this doesn't come up very often is because there is so little mental diversity in the Democratic party right now.
Personally, I tend to vote Republican. This isn't because I like Republicans. It's because I have struggled with a lack of a say in my own life, and the Democrats want to expand the government's control over our lives. To put it another way, I don't really vote for Republicans. I vote against the Democrats. There are a lot of people who can't comprehend the difference between hating Democrats and embracing mindless conservative conformity. This is why I frequently clarify things that shouldn't need clarification.
We're starting to get into the personal side of this post, so let me explain something about myself. I have long insisted that my biggest strength and biggest weakness is the same. I happen to be a big believer in independent thought. What do I mean by independent thought? I have an abnormal tendency to disconnect from external constraints on my thought process.
This is something that I like about myself. I can see things that nobody else can. I have original thoughts to contribute. Simply put, I love my thought process.
We are not just living in an era of mindless conformity. We are also living through a highly intolerant society. We are intolerant of anyone who deviates even a little from social acceptability standards that are so narrow and rigid that you can only meet these standards if you restrict your thoughts to those standards. I reject that constraint, which means that who I am is socially unacceptable.
This has created a serious problem in my life. I am confident in my ability to contribute. I am not confident in opportunity. This has become difficult for me. I am doing nothing while this world deteriorates even though I know I can make a difference.
I should probably mention something that a lot of people get wrong. Rejecting conformity does not mean rejecting everything anyone else has ever said. The only way that can happen is if you deviate purely because you think you have to in order to be a non-conformist. In a sense, that's stereotyping the views of non-conformists and conforming to that stereotype. True non-conformists will have areas in which they agree with the mainstream.
I do occasionally agree with the mainstream, but you probably don't see much of that. As I have stated before, I hate wasting my efforts writing what you can find elsewhere. I am far from the mainstream, but my online presence is even further away.
Most Americans are mindless conformists. By contrast, I embrace independent thought. I have shared numerous thoughts and ideas that are genuinely my own while most mindlessly regurgitate what others have told them. Perhaps you can find some areas in which others have similar views to mine, but I dare anyone reading this to find someone who fed me my personal beliefs.
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