The Power of Conforming and Distress

Don't get me wrong, radical and risky ideas and actions are necessary for real positive progress on the numerous and complex issues facing our planet today. Namely, radical ideas make kind-of-radical ideas sound not so bad and give perspective, breadth, and balance to our shared knowledge. Radical actions and images inspire thought, dialogue, and change. But I would like to take a moment to defend the conformists, sell-outs, and tools of our society- perhaps even argue that such individuals are actually the tools of positive change.

Now don't get me wrong again. Being a conformist, sell-out, or tool is bad... under certain conditions. In our capitalistic democracy, the dollar is the key to power. The machine is run by the man. You either work for the man, are the man, or are against the man. The man determines how the people should look, act, acquire wealth, lose wealth, what is moral, what is immoral. The man determines the rules. Play by the rules or go play somewhere else. But if you play by the rules, you are lending yourself to the machine. You will become a shiny gear and your work will dissipate into dollars and cents. Why would you ever want to conform?

First I would have to note the requirements of knowledge, education, and distress. Knowledge in the sense that you understand the issues that exist on a local and global level. Education in that you have acquired the tools to assess and implement ideas. And finally, distress would signify your uneasiness towards the fact that these issues exist and are not being sufficiently engaged.

Knowledge and education is a completely separate issue that I will not go into. I would briefly say that modern technologies like the World Wide Web can be a great tool for change in this area. But ultimately, a more structural change is needed to shake the root of this issue. So for the sake of argument, I will assume you, the conformist, is knowledgeable and educated.

So the variable here is distress. To be the right kind of conformist, you must be in a constant state of distress. Lose your distress, and become the wrong kind of conformist. The main idea here is in order to change the game, you must play the game without forgetting you're in the game. The man humors those against him, but listens to those with him.

And change from within will always be superior to change from without. Change caused by external forces will almost always be short-term change and will not address the root issues. Internal change is passive change and difficult to see immediate results, but the inches of progress is real progress and can be reaped over time. Remarkable individuals inspire and are remembered for change, but average individuals create the real change with small, cumulative actions. Just as great scientists are celebrated for breakthrough ideas, but it is the common engineer who materializes these ideas for the common citizen.

So I would say if you are a conformist, sell-out, or tool, stay on track and stay distressed. Strive for small, lasting changes. And when you become the man, help a brother out.