Essay on Adhering to Society's Beliefs

Submitted By wetkitties
Words: 442
Pages: 2

As children with free, wandering minds, it is often easier to be creative and “think outside the box.” However, as one begins to grow older, one starts to conform to society’s views and restricts his or her thoughts within this closed box of unoriginal ideas. This is ultimately harmful to the individual and his or her society. Many people often find themselves trapped within the walls of a society with boundless ideas. However, these ideas are mostly unoriginal and already said and done. These banal ideas are formed by people with limited imaginations. Those with different views can be seen as “weird” and it is easy to look down on those who are different. Galileo, a 17th century astronomer and scientist, proposed the controversial idea that the Earth was not the center of the universe. Because of his “radical” beliefs, he was excommunicated by the church and forced to live under house arrest. Because Galileo had different ideas about the universe’s structure, he was shunned. These devastating and embarrassing instances limit creativity because people generally want to be liked by others so they limit their spontaneous and creative ideas. Because of the individual’s desire to be accepted, people will generally avoid proposing new ideas. This fear has stifled scientific, artistic, and spiritual creativity for hundreds of years. To avert the pitfalls of stereotypical, unoriginal thought, one must be unafraid of criticism. People are also held back by their adherence to the beliefs of the majority because of the mob mentality mindset. This mindset causes people to agree with the majority’s opinion even if they know that it is wrong. For example in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, some of