Why Popularity Does Not Equate to Greatness
There was a time in history — not too long ago — when Nazism, slavery, and smoking cigarettes were popular.
It was widely accepted that Jews should be eradicated, humans were intended to be personal property, and that cigarettes were healthy.
While not everything that is considered popular is equally immoral or harmful, it’s worth applying some skepticism when it comes to what we accept as popular beliefs and practices among society.
Perhaps Mark Twain said it best…
“When you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”
That begs the question, can something be great if it is popular? In other words, if something is widely accepted and recognized, can it also be considered profound?
If the latest fashion trend is worn by every other person, is it still unique? If the latest television craze has already been seen and talked about by everyone, is it still of interest? If the latest news, movements, people, and trends have all been saturated to the point of being dull and no longer interesting, can those same things still be transformative?
For those striving to change the world — the creatives, the entreprenuers, the revolutionaries — there is much opportunity in avoiding what has been deemed popular. Just as another great writer, Jack Kerouac, put it…
“Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion.”
Kerouac implies that what is popular cannot also be great. And if we take him at his word, we can presume that there is only one of two paths to take: to pursue the mediorce in hopes of popularity, or to pursue greatness at the risk of never being discovered.
To that, I say what’s popular is boring, dull, and overdone. And, as with the start of this post, what’s blindly accepted can also be dangerous.
Greatness, on the other hand, will last for an eternity. Just like beautiful art that has been admired for centuries or like many of the great thinkers and writers throughout history that have positively shaped humanity.
If you try to pursue something popular, chances are you might not achieve something great. But if you pursue something great, you may just be heading in the right direction.
This post was created with Typeshare
