Originally Posted by Iucounu
I respectfully disagree that it's a false dichotomy; see the words, "That sort of conformism...". You're right of course that I don't want to raise him to be completely stubborn and unable to take advice and direction from a teacher. I just want him to stick to his guns when he's indisputably right; I think that's a strength.

There's still a lot of nuance here. Sometimes we think we're indisputably right when, in fact, we're not. Sometimes nonconformity amounts to tilting at windmills. And again, sometimes we're indisputably right from our priorities and perspectives, but indisputably wrong from someone else's.

I agree that "stick to your guns" is a strength, but it's only a strength if you know how to pick your battles, and when to abandon the field to fight another day.

Sticking with the war metaphor, George Washington was not the tactical genius that Benedict Arnold was, but Washington knew when to fight (both politically and on the battlefield), and Arnold did not. The results speak for themselves.