Throughout the years of history humans have fought many battles with society. Whether it be the biblical people's battle to worship freely without fear of prosecution or death, as demonstrated by a young man named Daniel in a story in which he was thrown into a den of lions for refusing to obey a law that forbade him to worship his God, (New American Standard Bible, Daniel 6:6-8.) the battle of the African American people for equality and desegregation fought by such people as Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks back in the 1950's and 1960's, (Shabe, Scholastic News, 2006.) and the present day battle fought by the homosexual people all over the world, for the privilege to be able to legally marry the person they love, and to be recognized and respected for that love. (Cherrin, 2003.)
No matter what our cause, and no matter how hard the fight may seem, humans are always ready and willing to “put up their dukes.” for what they believe in. One of the world's longest hardest battles has been that for individuality, to be seen differently than another. We fight for it with the clothes on our backs and the music we listen to, with the people we admire and the people we surround ourselves with.
We do it at work when we set ourselves apart hoping for that promotion, (Ezarik, 2003.) advertising companies do it when they want people to sit up and take notice of their new-and-improved products, (Gordon, 2005.) and even society's single people are encouraged to work on seeming different and special in the eyes of a new potential mate. (Good, 2006.) It is said however, that humans are social beings that need to interact with each other in order to be happy and that it is impossible to create a healthy functioning society without looking to someone else for guidance about what is the right way to behave. (Massoud, 2006.) This essay will explore several issues such as the correlation between generations of the past and generations of today, the way society treats people who are seen as different, and what would happen to a world that allowed true individualism to rule it. This exploration will help bring to light once and for all whether the fight for individuality is a losing battle.
Each period in history has bred many different kinds of people and many different hardships, failures and trials for them to face. It has also formed many connections between these people regardless of what time and place they lived, or do currently live in. Even though time has passed
between the generations, there are many similarities that will bind them together now and for all time. The first noticeable similarity is that between the women of each generation. Throughout time females have always strived to create and maintain equality for themselves. The women's movement has taken many steps, but it is still working to promote fairness and equality for women today, which is the same goal that the woman of the suffragette movement who fought for the right to vote entertained.1 Whether it be Nellie Maclung, Agnes Macphail, or the woman who fought for the 1992 ruling from the state Court of Appeals that allows women to appear topless in public, (Low, 2006). Each generation has had its own set of movers and shakers out on the front lines for equality.
On the other hand, it can also be argued that between the women of the suffragette movement and the women of today there has been hardly any progress made for equality at all and that the women of today are just as oppressed as they were in the past. (Naster, 2006.) For example, even though women are far more sexually liberated than they used to be, they are still not as free as men are from being labeled for expressing that freedom. (Nester, 2006.) The second glaring similarity between the generations is the theme of military uncertainty. It doesn't matter what generation a person is from,
whether it be World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War the Granada Invasion, the Gulf War or the War on Terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq,
every generation has been directly or indirectly affected by some kind of military action occurring in the world they live in. (Pettis, 2006.)
It is common for each generation to believe that they are unique. The Beat Generation of the "50"s was introduced by Jack Kerouac and made up of young people that were fed up with the sameness and materialism of their world. The “beatniks” as they were commonly referred to, used methods such as drugs and promiscuous sex in order to enhance their seemingly one-dimensional lives.
