“Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” – Mark Twain
What our world may need is an Alfred E Neuman mentality worked into the collective psyche. This may be the type of mentality that gets parents to pray from the depths of their souls that their kid wouldn’t turn out to be like but feared they would. Neuman, on the cover of many Mad Magazines, represents the simple minded who was too childlike to get caught up in social trappings yet smart or clear minded enough to see through the masks of conformity. The Neuman mentality opens up a window to let in much needed fresh air. With this fresh air comes a new way of looking at things.
In the 1950’s the economy was good and the marketplace was growing. But with it came with mindless conformity. Joseph McCarthy and Madison Avenue are prime examples. How many people turned fink to save their own skin or had their life ruined? How many executives lied or sold out to climb the corporate ladder? It may have brought affluence but the takes were raised so high and there was no rest to be had in the search for success. During the 1960’s, people started to question the status quo and found other ways of doing things.
Once a person starts taking a look at the things considered “normal” and start disengaging themselves from it, they are making the transition from “sane” mentality to abnormal psychology. They may become unconventional, skeptical, honest and not take themselves too seriously. The prolifically correct need to be aware that the rest of us don’t want to live in sanitized little boxes. Hopefully on a large scale, people will start questioning what they learn at home, in school, church among other settings.
Ron Murdock
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