Conformity Is Better Than Obey

GETTING LOST IN THE GREY
“…A man flattened by an opponent can get up again. A man flattened by conformity stays down for good,” said Thomas Watson Jr. (As cited in Mancuso, 160). Conformity is a type of social influence and we can define it as acting like one’s equals whereas the other type of social influence, obedience, can be defined as the compliance to the orders given by an authority figure. In our daily life, these two shape our decisions and they have a significant role in development of individuals and society, as a whole, in all areas of life. However, both can be highly dangerous. The question is which one is worse? It is no better to conform than obey, on the contrary, it’s worse as by conforming not only do we act against our nature, but we also let society define our actions and our ideas since we are afraid of minor penalties of not conforming

The opposing views say that everybody is equal and admittedly, according to the laws, that is true. Therefore, we all have the same rights. Nobody has the right to give orders to someone else, nor can anyone force someone to do something. Also one cannot deny that obedience is against people’s free will. We obey, because we have no other choice. Authority’s pressure is something we cannot go against. If we disobey, then we have to face the consequences of our actions and the fear of this can be so strong that it might turn people into non-questioning individuals who are afraid of expressing their own ideas. The Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War can be given as an example of how scared people, soldiers in this case, are afraid of authority. Obeying Lord Raglan’s order was “sheer folly” but although the cavalry commanders were aware of that, they still obeyed the order and their obedience lead to a disaster. More than 71% of soldiers didn’t return (Sutherland 41). This fate could have been avoided if the cavalry commanders voiced their