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  1. That is a great quote, a great observation, and John, I think you are right – some are happy being copies, and that is just fine with them.

    Interesting what you bring up about the discount stores and the trendy clothes, though, MG. It is cool now that is so much more ‘normal’ to shop at the discount stores. I hadn’t even set foot in one until my first marriage at age 20. But back then, in “Far North Dallas” (said in the snootiest of tones) it just wasn’t done, you know?

    Even with my being a non-conformist eccentric, it just wasn’t the normal thing to shop in those places. Now people in Mercedes stop at Dollar General every single day like it’s nothing. That is a good thing.

    I have noticed my teens starting to make little remarks here and there about trendy clothes, but, nothing too much – like we did when I was growing up. I know I fell victim to it in junior high – begging my folks for parachute pants and Gloria Vanderbilt’s!

    Pretty much by high school, I became more of my natural self – of “I like it because it’s pretty” not “I like the label” – you know?

    I think that I will butt heads with my kids a bit on this, as all parents do, but, needing ‘purple Ray Bans’ (bad example, I don’t even know what’s cool, I’m so out of date – lol) because Johnny and Mary and Susie all have them, gets up under my skin like a thousand little epidermal worms! (Is there such a thing? I don’t know.)

    The funny thing is, though, sometimes in my life I’ve found myself working so hard to be different, or nonconformist, that I find a bit of sweltering conformity in that, too. Odd, isn’t it?

    It’s almost like I talk in circles and wind up right back in the same ‘copying’ square with everyone else. Ha! Some good that did me.

  2. #1 and #3 really kick in during grade school, or at least did for me. I remember growing up without means, my family couldn’t afford Nike shoes or other name brands. We shopped at Kmart. The “cool kids” who I played basketball with all had Nike Airs and I was often left out and made fun of for my Payless hightops.

    Then my parents bought me some Nikes and like that, I was “cool” – it was just a matter of buying into the clique, so to speak.

    That set into motion the thinking that to fit in, you find what the “cool kids” are doing, and if safe and reasonably logical, you follow suit to a degree.

    Now that I have kids, I worry that someday the brand names will strike again and my daughter or son will need the more expensive stuff like the other kids have just to fit in. Luckily though, stores like Walmart and Target now have very affordable ‘cool’ clothes, so maybe that won’t happen.

    But if it’s not the clothing, it will be something else. It’s a sad day when you realize you’ve had to make the decision to “buy into” common culture just to be accepted. :(

  3. I’d guess there are three primary reasons that we tend to replicate one another.

    1. There are established characteristics which have known value in society, and people tend to follow the paths that allow them to achieve generally as much as they dream they can. Some people aspire to be a doctor or lawyer, some aren’t as ambitious but simply seek a comfortable existence and settle for whatever position in life that allows the optimum balance between effort and leisure.
    2. Humans seem to be programmable. We have a lot of difficulty resisting repeated messaging, and our cultures leave deep imprints on all but the most independent thinkers. The process of culturization makes it harder and harder to think “outside the box”.
    3. It is often hard to be different. You may be labeled (gay, radical, left-wing, cult, etc., etc.) ridiculed, abandoned or killed. Look at historical figures such as Lincoln, Copernicus, or Joan of Ark. Being unique is often a lonely and sad existence.

    Ultimately we should consider whether it is actually good to be an original or not. As I re-read Lincoln’s quote I notice that it could merely be an observation. In the end we should each do whatever makes us happy – whether that is to copy or be unique.

    John

  4. That’s an interesting quote if you really think about it. Makes you wonder why? Why are most people looking to copy everyone of the past and present? How come we don’t stay unique? Do we allow too many other influencers into our own personal bubbles (which, in that case, doesn’t become our personal bubble anymore)?

  5. I just made another comment about the Schoolhouse Rock vids, and it’s relevant here too.

    Watching my kids grow, they’re so original, so naive, and so wonderfully innocent. It’s stressful at times acting as a shield for them so that they don’t get hit with too many of the world’s realities. You want them to be smart and grow up to be successful, but a part of you also wants them to completely ignore the world of working to pay bills, stressing to make it home in time for dinner, etc.

    As much as I’d love to see my little girl become president one day.. I’d just as soon have her painting and writing things nobody will ever buy or allow her to make a living off of, things she’ll do because she enjoys them and hasn’t got caught up in the trappings of the world.

    In other words, keeping her from becoming another copy like her father :)