Mastodawn

On every hand are the enemies of individuality and mental freedom. Custom meets us at the cradle and leaves us only at the tomb. Our first questions are answered by ignorance, and our last by superstition. We are pushed and dragged by countless hands along the beaten track, and our entire training can be summed up in the word –suppression. Our desire to have a thing or to do a thing is considered as conclusive evidence that we ought not to have it, and ought not to do it. At every turn we run against cherubim and a flaming sword guarding some entrance to the Eden of our desire. We are allowed to investigate all subjects in which we feel no particular interest, and to express the opinions of the majority with the utmost freedom. We are taught that liberty of speech should never be carried to the extent of contradicting the dead witnesses of a popular superstition. Society offers continual rewards for self-betrayal, and they are nearly all earned and claimed, and some are paid.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, agnostic, orator
Lecture (1873-12) “Individuality,” Chicago Free Religious Society

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/ingersoll-robert-gre…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #robertingersoll #uniformity #religiousintolerance #conformity #groupthink #intolerance #orthodoxy #regulation #religion #selfbetrayal #society #suppression #tyrannyofthemajority

WordofTheHour May 14

#conformity : correspondence in form, manner, or character

- French: conformité

- German: die Übereinstimmung

- Italian: conformità

- Portuguese: conformidade

- Spanish: conformidad

------------

See previous words @ https://wordofthehour.org/r/past

Word of The Hour

Word of the Hour helps expand your vocabulary. Every hour, a new vocabulary word is featured along with translations into 10+ languages including French, German, Hindi, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and more. We are supported by our warm and welcoming community on Reddit.

WIST Quotations May 13

A quotation from Euripides

HECUBA:   Then no man on earth is truly free,
   All are slaves of money or necessity.
   Public opinion or fear of prosecution
   forces each one, against his conscience,
   to conform.

ἙΚΆΒΗ:                                        [φεῦ.
   οὐκ ἔστι θνητῶν ὅστις ἔστ’ ἐλεύθερος·
   ἢ χρημάτων γὰρ δοῦλός ἐστιν ἢ τύχης
   ἢ πλῆθος αὐτὸν πόλεος ἢ νόμων γραφαὶ
   εἴργουσι χρῆσθαι μὴ κατὰ γνώμην τρόποις.]

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Hecuba [Hekabe; Ἑκάβη], l. 864ff (c. 424 BC) [tr. Arrowsmith (1958)]

Sourcing, notes, other translations: wist.info/euripides/6979/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #restraint #wealth #freewill #conformity #constraint #desire #fortune #freedom #inclination #judgment #law #luck #mob #money #popularopinion #resources

Babu Menos 🎵 #NoAI May 8

Today in ‘Samuel Pepys’ Diary Reimagined’:

‘Been thinking, does it constitute cognitive dissonance that most people crave to be part of the herd and be uniquely individual at the same time?’

https://babumenos.com/SPDR/#a2025-05-08

#Individuality #Conformity #CognitiveDissonance

Samuel Pepys’ Diary Reimagined

A contemporary diary of current every-day events large and small, inspired by the work of 17th century writer and politician Samuel Pepys.

Michael The Anonymous May 7

Narcissism, Conformity, and the Quest for External Validation. This is HUGE. Read it if you dare..

https://michaeltheanon.blogspot.com/2025/05/narcissism-conformity-and-quest-for.html

#mind #mentalhealth #awareness #activism #narcisism #conformity #savetheworld #X #Elon #Trump

Narcissism, Conformity, and the Quest for External Validation

Narcissism, Conformity, and the Quest for External Validation Introduction Narcissism is a complex personality trait characterized by a gran...

Michael The Anonymous May 5

The Badge of Submission: Why We Must Reject Digital Marks of Authority. In our hyper-mediated digital world, symbols like X's blue checkmark and similar verification badges function as potent "marks of authority." But beneath the surface of signifying authenticity, they represent a complex dynamic of validation, conformity, and control.

https://michaeltheanon.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-badge-of-submission-why-we-must.html

#x #mark #authority #thoughts #freespeech #conformity #Elon #mastodon

The Badge of Submission: Why We Must Reject Digital Marks of Authority

The Badge of Submission: Why We Must Reject Digital Marks of Authority In our hyper-mediated digital world, symbols like X's blue checkmar...

Different Than Apr 29

Listen, fellow progressives/liberals: it's hard to swallow (I know because it's me) but identifying as a member of the side of the culture war that identifies #authoritarianism, #conformity, #groupthink, #tribalism, etc. doesn't mean we're immune to those things. Not in the least.

It also doesn't mean you know what "cognitive dissonance" or "fragile masculinity" actually mean, but maybe those are separate issues. The main point is: Physican Cure Thyself is something we should almost all be told on a regular basis.

#UncomfortableTruth #GroupDynamics
#CognitiveBiases #liberal #progressive

Kyle K Apr 6

Is 'sane' just what most people agree on? Does being different automatically mean 'insane'? This quote challenges the very definition of normal. What if the outliers see things more clearly? Brain = broken. #Sanity #Normality #Conformity #Psychology #MindTrip #QuestionReality #DeepThoughts #Outsider #ThoughtProvoking

☮ ♥ ♬ 🧑‍💻Mar 31

“I was #rebelling against school, against #conformity,” … “The music was so different. The pace, the energy, the style but also the attitude: society sucks!” — #AngelaJaeger (R), 1978

#Punk / #PunkRock / #PostPunk / #NewWave / #music <https://theguardian.com/music/2025/mar/31/punk-diary-angela-jaeger>

‘Society SUCKS!’ The fanatical diary of a teen scribbler who threw herself into punk

Don’t live like everyone else! Angela Jaeger met every act going in punk, in New York and London – and had crushes on them all. Now 65, she talks us through her thrill-filled diaries

The Guardian

WIST Quotations Mar 28

A quotation from Orwell

But public opinion, because of the tremendous urge to conformity in gregarious animals, is less tolerant than any system of law. When human beings are governed by “thou shalt not,” the individual can practice a certain amount of eccentricity: when they are supposedly governed by “love” or “reason,” he is under continuous pressure to make him behave and think in exactly the same way as everyone else.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1946-09), “Politics vs. Literature: An Examination of Gulliver’s Travels,” Polemic, No. 5

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/orwell-george/27946/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #orwell #conformity #generalpublic #intolerance #orthodoxy #publicopinion #public #forgiveness