The Few, the Brave, the Eaters of Tripe?

We've all been there, having to endure a lecture or awkward question or skeptical attitude when facing someone who doesn't happen to agree with a situation we're in or a decision we've made.  Whether it is Great Aunt Mildred nagging you about your singleness at a family gathering or that annoying guy at work that still can't believe you vaccinate your kids or the neighbor that is convinced anyone who isn't a vegan is a cannibal or the nosy lady behind you in the checkout line interrogating you about the items in your cart.  It is uncomfortable and annoying and awkward, especially upon certain personal and sensitive topics, worse if there was one word to describe our fractured and insane  societal mentality of the day, it just might be Justification.

From our choice in cat litter to colleges, hairstyle to gender transition, we feel that everything must be weighed in the court of public opinion before embracing it, as if every busybody on social media or in the marketplace is suddenly an expert and a judge, all rolled into one.  We can't simply make a decision and stick with it, rather we hem and haw, make vague excuses and go with the flow, anything rather than to be found wanting in some aspect of social awareness.  We can only chew organic, free range, culturally approved gum.  We have to pretend to like whatever unpronounceable concoction the guy on TV recommends because obviously his taste is the only one that matters.  It's a phenomenon as old as humanity, though never has it been so readily available and publicly painful with the advent of social media and the 24-7 internet and TV services: the court of public opinion now never sleeps.  We have also all become experts in everything, thanks to our magical phones and the internet, so obviously we should have a say in everyone else's decisions, no matter how little we understand their circumstances or know them personally.

But why do we feel the need to justify everything?  Why do we feel the need to do the popular thing rather than what is right or what we personally prefer?  We want to fit in, feel comfortable, feel accepted, not stick out except in those socially acceptable ways that mark our individuality, say the breed of our dog or the color of our hat or the maker of our shoes.  And we wonder why our lives are dull, colorless, and void of meaning!  How could it be different when we are all sheep, except some have green hats and others have pink?  Oh for a little uniqueness!  As Screwtape so nicely put it, "I have known a human defended from strong temptations to social ambition by a still stronger taste for tripe and onions."  Now there is a man firm in his faith, or at least in his digestion!

Are we willing to stand against the flow, step out of the crowd, go against the grain?  It is the only way to be unique, to be an individual, to be remembered, but it may well be in infamy and disgust, yet are we willing to pay such a price to be truly ourselves? 

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."