Manufacturing Individuality

Friday, November 1, 1996

IDENTITY:

Being a free-thinking spirit when it’s easier to conform, let
others make your decisionsI’m watching the Branch Davidian compound
burn to the ground, live on CNN. As I see the ATF charge and
finally retreat as the building bursts into flames, I find myself
thinking: Wow, why would anybody want to follow that wacko Koresh
anyway? I flip through the channels and stop on a commercial for
the U.S. Army telling me to be all that I can be. Wait a minute, I
think, who’s the bad guy here?

Is it Koresh? Is it the ATF? Is it both? The more I think about
it, the more I wonder why anyone would decide to join a cult, the
military or any other institution that decides what its members are
going to do with their lives. I’d never do that, I think, I’m an
individual, damn it. Then I glance at the clock and jump off the
couch. Crap, I’m going to be late to work.

Stuck in traffic on the commute home, I look up to see a
billboard. Next to the picture of a famous basketball player is the
slogan "Be your own person ­ Nike." When I get home there’s a
Levi’s commercial on TV in which adolescents are telling me what
unique individuals they are.

Life’s pretty scary. Things change so quickly that it’s hard to
know what to do. Choices are really hard to make. It’s so much
easier to let someone else make those choices for you. And there
are so many people who will gladly provide this service. Perhaps
you’d like a cult to co-opt your identity, or maybe a government
institution. A nice corporation would be more than happy to tell
you where you’re going. Maybe you can find salvation in a
university that validates your life and makes you feel
educated.

Or you could strive for individuality and independence by
purchasing those products that will help you be whoever you want to
be. The choice is yours. Now, who’s going to make those choices for
you?

That’s the decision that each of us gets to make in the modern
world. Who will define what we are?

If you want safety and security, join a company that will take
care of your basic needs and give you a few toys while letting any
chance you had for original ideas and creations die inside you. If
you want to feel like you have a real say in how things are run, go
out and vote for one of the swell candidates who are up for
election. Try not to think about the fact that who wins the
election will affect your life about as much as who wins the Super
Bowl. And if you really want to feel like a rebellious individual,
buy this pair of jeans, and this car, and this cologne, and this
deodorant …

The funny thing about individuality is that it’s a socially
constructed concept. Only in the confines of social order can we
think of ourselves as individuals. Another funny thing about it is
that the symbols most of us use to express our individuality (such
as our clothes, the books we read, the music we listen to) are all
mass produced.

So the next time you’re sitting at Starbucks, sipping an
over-priced cappuccino and waxing philosophical about what an
independent thinker you are, consider the fact that there are
literally thousands of other morons across the country who are
doing the exact same thing.

So, what can we do about all of this? Well, I hate to sound like
I’m copping out, but I really don’t know. I mean, I want to say
that I’m an individual who makes his own choices, but I know that’s
pretty far from the truth. I’ve been socialized as well as anyone
else, and it’s rather difficult for any of us to think outside the
confines of what we’ve been taught. I realize that’s kind of a
depressing thought, but for the most part I think it’s true.

I guess there are a few things we can do. Start by thinking
about why you’re doing what you’re doing. That sounds obvious, but
ask yourself, "Why am I wearing this Gap shirt? Is it because it’s
a high-quality article of clothing that will do the best job of
taking care of my shirt needs? Or is it, as is more likely the
case, that Gap shirts are cool and all the cool people are wearing
them?"

This goes beyond clothes and other material possessions, too.
Why are you a member of that church? Is it because it provides you
with real spiritual growth and understanding, or is it a way for
you to feel accepted, like one of the good people? Hey, if your
answer is the former, more power to you but if it’s the latter,
maybe you need to think about what that says about you.

Look, I can’t speak for anyone else or give anyone else the
answers. I’m just trying to do the best I can for myself. So, in
this world where identity is sold in a bottle and institutions tell
us who we’re going to be, I’ve made my choice.

I choose to resist.