The issue of conformity preoccupies today's society, whether most recognize it or not. People conform to ideologies, religions, political affiliations, and other socially supported codes and organizations.
   People first feel the pressures of "conformity" at an extremely early age, and they usually respond to it in one of two ways: acceptance or rebellion. Furthermore, if they "rebel," they either simply associate with others who are determined to become "nonconform" as a group and, hence, defeat their purpose, or they shun all of society and become grotesques.
   While both of these responses may be natural, they have proven to be rather unbeneficial. People who totally conform to social customs sacrifice their uniqueness as they are assimilated into the collective. This form of conformity obliterates creativity and immobilizes the flow of ideas as it paralyzes the entire social entity. Moreover, as President Truman once noted, "The most popular choice is not necessarily the most correct one."
   Therefore, people may decide that nonconformity is perhaps a more prudent option. This assumption is premature, however. As previously mentioned, to simply rebel against one group may lead to the acceptance of another. In such a case, people who attempt to maintain their identity by opposing one clique (odd, I originally spelled it "cliche") often tend to lose that identity to another; they replace one form of conformity with another. To conceptualize this point, one merely needs to refer to the "hippie" movement of the mid-60's. If everyone is "hip," no one is.
   And while the prior form of conformity may be dull, the other may be dangerous. Selective conformity leads to exclusivity and often draws a line between "us" and "them." Subsequently, these groups heighten social tensions, breed hate, and most importantly, tend to instigate violence. World War II comes directly to mind.
   Total nonconformity, wherein a person becomes an isolationist, is, while an extremely romanticized concept, also an extremely idiotic one. As a species, humans depend upon one another. Let's not kid ourselves, folks; as much as I'd like not to be identified with certain individuals such as thieves, bigots, murderers, or salesmen, we are all human and require the assistance of others for survival. We are social animals, which (and I may be wrong, but am willing to go out on a limb here) is probably why we live in a complex, interactive group structure called (prepare yourself for the shock), "society."
   And as in the case of selective conformity, self-imposed isolation often leads to misanthropy, as well as delusions of righteousness and grandeur. This further promotes excessive eccentricity, and, though Emerson was correct in saying "To be great is to be misunderstood," eccentricity for the sake of itself leads to the classic "rebel without a cause" syndrome. The individual is all that matters and the world is "evil." This is undoubtedly perverse.
   Hence, the appropriate course of action may be to find a "golden median" between conformity and nonconformity. As Emerson also said (and I shall paraphrase without doing the quote any justice): To conform is one thing and to reclude another, but to actively interact within a society while still maintaining your identity is the true sign of greatness. Both social conformity and individualism are of equal importance in today's world, and always have been.

-Holden Caulfield, editor