In present times, it seems as if the media is attempting to make everyone the same. We see this in ads, television and social media. In the past, individual mindsets led to changes in history. Because of individualism, great advances in science, math, history, and language took place. So why does the media want to diminish our individualism in society?
Perhaps it is to better control us as citizens. If idols are constantly telling the people to look, eat, or dress a certain way, most people will do it to remain “popular” or “cool.” It is, in a way, a trap for the citizens of America. If a generation is filled with ideas and thoughts about “the perfect body” or “the ideal person,” the generation will grow up with similar thoughts and become mindless zombies without any individualism. Unfortunately, this is happening today. Because of the media’s portrayal of the “perfect woman,” more young girls are developing low-self esteem because they want to look like society’s “perfect woman.” So many young children are being taught to ignore individual thoughts. Society is attempting to make us alike for the fact that they want to control us. Getting rid of a person’s individuality is equivalent to diminishing their personality. Without any original thoughts or ideas, the world would be monotonous and meaningless.
Individual thinking is needed to create historical events. For example, Christopher Columbus set out to find the Americas. However, many people thought he was insane. For they believed the world was flat, therefore, he would fall off while sailing. Columbus proved the world wrong and changed history. Another example is Aristotle and Galileo. Aristotle first proposed the idea that heavier objects will fall toward the earth faster than lighter objects. Most people went along with Aristotle’s theory until Galileo proved him wrong. Galileo dropped two cannonballs with different masses off the top of the leaning tower of Pisa. They both fell to the ground at the same time thus proving Aristotle wrong and opening many new doors in the scientific world. These examples prove that individualism is crucial to new discoveries and advances in knowledge.
In the short story Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, everybody is the same. It takes place in the year 2081. To make everybody equal, the government supplied more intelligent people with handicaps. People wear masks to hide their beauty so there is no “competition.” In the short story, a man and his daughter are watching ballerinas on television. The father has an earpiece in his ear specially designed for people who are smarter. The earpiece gives off a loud sound every 20 seconds. This sound makes the person who is wearing it forget what they did before the sound. On the television, there is an announcement given about a “dangerous” boy who escaped from jail. The young boy’s name is Harrison Bergeron. Harrison suddenly appears on the television program. He defies the government and starts to take off his many handicaps. The government sees him as “dangerous” because he is very smart and is able to disobey them. Harrison is soon shot by a Handicapper General and killed. The father and daughter are seeing the event unravel on television. For a short second, the father remembers that Harrison is his son, only to forget after his earpiece alarms.
The short story shows that thinking alike will end in mindless citizens who cannot think for themselves. Individuality is important because the world needs leaders. Only people with the right mindset can lead the world to greatness.