The Art of Non-Conformity » On Revolutions

By Dennis Lowery

We use the word revolution too flippantly, because real revolutions involve great sacrifice. Those who dare to express themselves are placed at real risk—not only the risk of violence and intimidation, but also the likely possibility of failure. 

via chrisguillebeau.com

I'm an irreverent sort... some would call me a smartass at times and certainly I've had some issues with authority (familial, military and corporate) over the years. In my Navy evals (evaluations, the military equivalent of a perfomance review) there was often a comment "Lowery occasionally needs reminding that he is in the United States Navy"; it was good for me that those comments were preceded by positive, sometimes glowing, remarks about how good I was at my job. There's no doubt in my mind that being good at what I did saved my butt many times in both military and civilian life because I had little respect or tolerance for incompetence or even worse... stupidity. Even when it came from those above me and I should have kept quiet or toned down my attitude.

So you can understand why the idea of non-conformity appeals to me. That is why I read the blog that the quote at the top of this post came from. It has that non-conformist approach and philosophy.

Real non-conformity at it's riskiest and most courageous level leads to revolutions, like Chris mentions in his blog post (that link above). The types of non-conforming acts that rock countries and the world like we're currently seeing. People standing up for what they want and what they believe... bloodied and often dying to bring about a change, One where they hopefully will be granted some of the rights and opportunities that we Americans sometimes take for granted. The very things that our own forefathers fought for so that we have them.

So you could say that their non-conformity was part of what drove the birth of our nation. Perhaps we're witnessing the transformation of others with current events.

Comments

[Vicky Klopp]

Dennis,

Is that above musing YOU? You don't seem (to me) the "rock the state" type of guy. Or, maybe I was reading what I wanted to read, with respect to your correspondence.

Elections do work.... even if a certain 9 judges ultimately decide how it goes.
Vic