Custom as an agreed rule. It determines our behavior. We act like the "proper" others. We fulfill the expectations placed upon us in order to make a good impression.
We want to always be "in", we don't want to be "out." The rule applies territorially and historically: "Here and now." What was valid yesterday may not be valid today. Therefore the rule applies: different place – different customs.
It's not just about clothing, way of communication, table manners and the like, but we adapt in terms of opinions, we repeat – or rather parrot – what is being said, we think what we should think.
The rule governed by the "here and now" principle can be demonstrated through communication by modern means, on social networks. The effect of the "here and now" principle is amplified by the use of artificial intelligence. A person no longer even knows what to believe.
To this I can paraphrase the alleged thought of Gilbert Keith Chesterton: "When people stop believing in God, they don't believe in nothing. They believe in anything."
The "here and now" space is deliberately surrounded by certain "dogmas", truths that are not recommended to be doubted. This is an effective barrier because it prevents argumentation that most people cannot handle. And so it is risky to view things differently than they should be viewed, to understand differently than they should understand in the "here and now" space.
Thus the majority goes in circles. At first everyone enjoys it "here and now." The carousel keeps spinning until their heads spin. Everyone will feel sick. Some will even vomit. Everyone will need someone for their salvation who will stop the carousel so that they can stand on solid ground, even if dazed.
That is why those who never freely and consciously sit on the carousel are so important in society. Some want to spin it and others are able to stop it.
And they go. They go their own way. Going one's own way is not a right, and certainly not an obligation to be different at any cost, nor a manifestation of individual autonomy in today's conception. It means an obligation to strive for knowledge of truth and good, even when such effort leads to conflict with society, loneliness, or loss of social standing.
This idea is presented by Plato in the well-known allegory of the cave in Book VII of the Republic. People chained in the cave consider shadows to be reality, while the individual who dares to step outside discovers the truth. Upon returning among the others, however, he encounters resistance, misunderstanding, and hostility. Plato thereby shows that knowledge of truth can lead to social isolation and rejection by society. Nevertheless, society needs people of this type.
Therefore my advice in conclusion. Let us dedicate ourselves to those who are not on the carousel. Let us turn away from those who spin it and let us not stone those who are able to stop it.
Cyril Svoboda
