{"id":593,"date":"2012-10-11T10:04:52","date_gmt":"2012-10-11T15:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cgayling.com\/malmaxa\/?p=593"},"modified":"2012-10-11T10:04:52","modified_gmt":"2012-10-11T15:04:52","slug":"inner-conflicts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cgayling.com\/malmaxa\/musings\/snip-its\/inner-conflicts\/","title":{"rendered":"Inner Conflicts."},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Though we hold being unique and original in high esteem, we strive for conformity and slavishly follow trends.<br \/>~ <a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/RQbCXV37\">http:\/\/t.co\/RQbCXV37<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; C.G.Ayling (@CGAyling) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CGAyling\/status\/256411860293808128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 11, 2012<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>I believe we\u2019re almost universally filled with these strange little inner conflicts, perhaps they even aid in defining human nature.\u00a0 Today, I\u2019m considering how we value our\u00a0individuality, while actively trying to <em>fit in<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Our upbringing might well seed this particular conflict.\u00a0 Even before we start school, our parents encourage us to be imaginative \u2013 they express avid delight in our every word and deed, while telling us how special we are.\u00a0 Then, they insist we conform to whatever their \u201cnormal\u201d is \u2013 maybe that\u2019s our table manners, or the way we greet our elders, or following their religious observances.\u00a0 Though none of this is bad, it certainly sows the seeds of conflict.<\/p>\n<p>Then our early education begins.\u00a0 Now, we\u2019re constantly told how valuable imagination and originality are, while being subjected to an endless barrage of tests to see how well we conform to \u201cnormal\u201d.\u00a0 Personally, I think this type of educational system stinks \u2013 unfortunately, in the USA\u00a0my children have access to no other.<\/p>\n<p>What a confusing world for the young\u2026\u00a0 No wonder kids dress in crazy clothes, dye and cut their hair into bizarre styles, then graduate to cover their flesh in piercings and tattoos, or worse.\u00a0 Their desire to be unique is so powerful it\u00a0approaches despair.<\/p>\n<p>We deprive our children of creative outlet by stripping arts programs from schools to save someone a dime.\u00a0 We enforce mediocrity by compelling our kids to \u201cdo well\u201d in school, AKA conforming to the one size fits all mentality.\u00a0 We lower the academic bar to the lowest common denominator, then measure their scholastic success by how well they imitate their peers.\u00a0 Sad.<\/p>\n<p>Society values originality, yet it demands conformity.<\/p>\n<p>It took me over fifty years to learn writing grants my inner demons escape.\u00a0 <a title=\"[Samples]\" href=\"https:\/\/cgayling.com\/malmaxa\/samples\/\">Malmaxa<\/a>, my first novel, reveals some of them.\u00a0 How long has it taken you to find release?\u00a0 If you&#8217;re yet to attain it, how long do you anticipate waiting?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I believe we\u2019re almost universally filled with these strange little inner conflicts, perhaps they even aid in defining human nature.\u00a0 Today, I\u2019m considering how we value our\u00a0individuality, while actively trying to fit in. Our upbringing might well seed this particular conflict.\u00a0 Even before we start school, our parents encourage us to be imaginative \u2013 they [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-snip-its"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/cgayling.com\/malmaxa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/cgayling.com\/malmaxa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/cgayling.com\/malmaxa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cgayling.com\/malmaxa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cgayling.com\/malmaxa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/cgayling.com\/malmaxa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/cgayling.com\/malmaxa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cgayling.com\/malmaxa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cgayling.com\/malmaxa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}