Non-Conformity

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. – romans 12:2

Being “counter-cultural” is all the rage these days. The problem is, we inherited a set of non-conforming practices which have now become conformity. In the post-Woodstock years, art has become a commodity. Clothes and music are not just expression, they are profits. So now its acceptable for Indie rock to be a marketable. Somehow bands like the Phoenix, Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, are considered “indie rock” even though some of them got heavy playtime during the Super Bowl in car commericals, ads, and game transitions. Tattoos have gone from an act of subversion (“I am thinking of getting one, but not somewhere unreasonable, that I could hide at work”) to an act of conformity. I love the following quote from the show HOUSE, when he’s interviewing a candidate with a tattoo and the candidate criticizes House for not being accepting of “non-conformity.”

“Nonconformity; right… I can’t remember the last time I saw a twenty something kid with a tattoo of an Asian letter on his wrist. You are one wicked free thinker! You want to be a rebel; stop being cool. Wear a pocket protector like he does, and get a hair cut. Like the Asian kids that don’t leave the library for a twenty hours stretch. They’re the ones that don’t care what you think.” -Dr. Gregory House

I like non-conformity when its sexy, but my wife and some of her friends are just disinterested in culture. I like tattoos and local ag and subverting the need for a phone. Being counter-cultural, non-conformist, subversive, is not to be alternative, its taking a look at culture asking “what is happening?” and doing the opposite. Last night I saw non-conformity at its finest, and it was not sexy.

What is non-conformity on Valentine’s Day? Well against my original thinking, Erin and our friend Sally organized us to go to a shelter, in the midst of this freeze-out of the southeast, and hand out hot chocolate to those waiting outside for admittance. I certainly did not lean towards this idea, but they looked at culture “dinner, flowers, gifts, cards” and they suggested the opposite. It was cold, it was not sexy, and it was totally subversive. No card companies made money off us, no florists, no hotels, no restaurants…I learned something, I learned what real subversion is.