The Crank Principle

Somewhere in the book The Age of Absurdity, author Michael Foley writes about the "Crank" principle. The principle basically describes how anyone who steps back from conforming to popular, but flawed, sentiment to present a contrarian idea is almost always dismissed as a crank. But if one persistently gives a consistent and logical presentation of said idea over a prolonged timeframe, such people eventually prevail.

Blind conformity to the popular represents an abdication of personal responsibility. It is only when one tempers the instinct to conform by applying a critical mind to evaluating options that one becomes truly free.