Is there a conspiracy against everyone?

Ralph Waldo Emerson says that "[The voices we hear]... grow fain and inaudible as we enter the world. Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members" (21). Conspiracy is a strong word, and yet his point is strongly made. In class, I'm sure many people have had an experience where they've had an idea or an answer, but were too afraid to say it for fear that it is wrong. And maybe it's not being afraid to speak in class, maybe you've wanted to buy an outfit, but thought other people wouldn't like it. Everyone is guilty of this in some form or another, because of society, and New Trier's society is very guilty of this. You look down the hallways and masses of people are wearing very similar outfits, with very bags, listening on their iPods to very similar music. I'm not saying that I am innocent in this conformity, while I try to be myself I cannot say that I don't worry about what other people think, and while Emerson would scold me for this, it is true for most people. It is hard to be completely yourself in our society with so much judgement, but according to Emerson it is necessary. When we lose ourselves in conformity, it is hard to recover, but if we don't break away, we will be lost in the conspiracy against us all.