Go flock yourself
This is the face I make when I think about society. As I see it, society is an excuse for a large group of people or animals (I might start using these terms interchangeably) to behave in a certain way. It is convenient to act like everyone else, it is a habit that cultivates into tradition and norms. But what I cannot grasp is why this phenomena has escalated to such proportions that anyone who does not fit the status quo is regarded as being an anomaly. Was it not Oscar Wilde who said “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.”? I think what he was really trying to say was “Be yourself, everyone else is merely faking.” I cannot help but feel this way and I cannot help but wonder if I am the only one.
The term trying to fit in has adopted a more pragmatic approach as we humans try to squeeze ourselves into a certain shape. The truth is, we have already been moulded and, by definition, no two shapes can be exactly the same. If I am a square peg and the world is my round hole, I shall refuse to sharpen my edges. The key misconception is that we should aim to fit into a certain society when society by its very nature is designed to fit us. But what happens when we do not fit? Moreover, what happens if we do not know our shape? The true difficulty, especially for those of us who are still in the process of self-discovery, lies within the maintaining of ones self.
It is a lot easier to get lost in a large crowd than in vacancy, yet I have found myself most lost when I am alone. For being alone, or lonely, can be a terrifying thought that is embedded in the back of all our heads. Here convention comes to play, it is that principle which drove the creation of society and hence eradicate solidarity. Authority, obligation and principle are the three tiers on which all else is built: they form the stepping stones of the path which we call life.
Consequently, I am the spectator of a flock of people, or rather sheeple, walking in single file across this path. They are careful not to tread on the cracks for if you trip and you fall, you will not be able to return to the path. Should you as much as skip or hop or whistle the tune of your favourite Smiths song, you will be doomed to a life of destitute and seclusion. I think I will prefer the life of a misanthrope any day. I shall not waste another second of my day being what I am not and feeling what I cannot. Instead I choose to laugh. I choose to laugh at the people who spend their days imitating the exact move of the person walking in front of them. Ironically they are all headed in the same direction, but they sure as hell aren’t going anywhere.
Do you know what I say to these people? Go flock yourself.
