Conformity In The Cold War

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The Cold War started as a result of two polarizing views on the issue: individuality or community. One side represented free will and independent thought whereas the other faction embodied the notion of sacrificing personal endeavours for the betterment of the group. Notwithstanding, conformity has been always been at the center of human morals and beliefs. Laws are built on the basis of how much residents can and cannot deviate from the social norms, relationships are broken over displaying differences, and blood is shed assimilating all the different outlooks. Although not as violent, conformity still stands as an important aspect in popular culture. Even though there are numerous individual opportunities and benefits for not conforming to society, internal, subconscious desires compel individuals to forego their individualism and assimilate to …show more content…

People must conform to the societal standards in order to be accepted in the community. Society constantly strives to justify its ideology's worth and truth. As a result, many theorists and philosophers rely on widely accepted doctrines, such as religion, as their validation by finding specific instances in the doctrines that recommend the adoption of their beliefs (Ostrom). Likewise, the sheer magnitude of supporting arguments can also validate a certain idea. With the increase of believers in a particular opinion, no matter how unfounded it is, the validity also increases (Twain). Consequently, in order to maintain confidence in themselves and validity in their beliefs, the society will "ostracize, shame, and ridicule those who fail to hold beliefs or display behaviours which are considered socially acceptable" ("The Psychology of Conformity"). More importantly, besides just being distant from the rest of the community, the real strain on people is the psychological burdens. Some people claim being a lone wolf is beneficial, that even though there are numerous