It Just Takes Time

I wholeheartedly agree with Mark Twain’s ideas of societal conformity in his essay, “Corne-Pone Opinions.” There are so many facets of society that have started with much scrutiny, but with time have earned a place, which he discusses using the example of the hoopskirt. It takes time for people to accept new things, but almost always they eventually come around. I think this is because people generally do not like change.

Change is scary and unknown. Change adds a new factor into the mix that people then must deal with. Change takes extra effort and inconvenience. I believe this is why at first, a new part of society is met with opposition, but once discovered that it is here to stay, people adapt. And the more exposure, the more likely one is to jump on the bandwagon.

We could use America as an example. England did not want its colonies to separate from the motherland and was willing to fight a war to prevent this change. But this change happened despite all of the odds, and America was born. Although England was unpleased after the fact, it did eventually recognize the United States and is now its closest and most reliable ally in the world. The hard feelings went away with time and it  accepted that America was never going to be a colony again.

In more recent history, the idea of Botox and plastic surgery used to bring an overall sense of disgust. Now, these body modifications are met with little surprise, especially among celebrities, and maybe even discussed with some sort of justification as well. Even the idea of “twerking,” which initially caused horror, and I think it still does for some, nevertheless became a party staple and skill to be proud of. My point is, once something is no longer “different” or “new,” the stagnancy against it will be less forceful.

Mark Twain has not been alive for over 100 years, but his ideas of society are still relevant to this day. I think this goes to show that although people change, the ways of society often do not. It will be interesting to see in another 100 years if these ideas will continue to be true.