BY JOE HUDSON

I was on the front porch when you drove by and I waved, thinking that many people now like to embrace their independent streak like those motivational posters at car washes encourage you to do — “be the captain of your ship” and “take the road less traveled.” However, that takes a lot of work; you’re constantly resisting tradition, while trying to maintain inner freedom, which is why they constantly pound individualism into us every chance they get lest we forget.

But being all about yourself is consuming. Sometimes you need to give yourself permission to take the easy way out, jump off the conveyor of stress, and just follow the big dumb herd. I do. It’s okay to go to the mega-stores where people shop in their pajamas, or eat at a chain restaurant, or watch “The Bachelor.”

Go easy on yourself and enjoy the continental breakfast at the Days Inn. Drink awful coffee and eat a Danish that is only a Danish because a sign says it is. Stare mindlessly into that little toaster oven until the bell dings, then take that Danish and waddle over to a table with me.

Will it be a great breakfast because it’s delicious? No. It’ll be delicious because it was easy and uncomplicated. Are there better meals? Yes, there are. But they’re expensive and require planning, research, and reservations.

Some days the only decision you need to make is deciding between oatmeal, cereal, or hard-boiled egg. Not every day in your life has to be special. An orchid needs proper sunshine, special nutrients, and just the right amount of water. But a weed eats and drinks whenever it can, as much as it wants, and grows well with other weeds. Don’t be that pampered orchid. Be a weed.

We can’t all be Andy Warhol or Salvador Dali. There’s nothing wrong with being normal.

Now that the generation of kids that were told they were so special for no reason have become adults, most of us can agree they are pretty entitled individuals. Perhaps if they were a little less special, they would compromise, show empathy, respect, and be kinder to each other. As I write this, some of them are rioting and smashing police cars with their skateboards. They want things their way.

I think Burger King accidently started it all when they told us “Have it your way.” That thought grew legs and has trampled on every aspect of society. People stopped thinking about “we” and began to believe more in “me.” These days enjoyment and fun seem harder to find.

Want some fun? The herd loves fun. Attitude is the key. Understand that going with the herd will be slower, demand patience, and require some basic manners.

I was at a Hickory Crawdads baseball game with my son and it was beautiful. Over 5,000 other people were there too. Everybody got along, laughing and eating together. Small kids ran around wearing foam baseball gloves. Oh, sure, there was one drunk guy stumbling around and constantly going to the restroom, but it was almost entertaining.

It’s fun to play along with the dumb things at the game. You sing songs together. You cheer together and periodically you all let out a collective groan. Everybody cares if someone is injured, and everybody claps when they walk off the field.

When the game was over, we all headed to our cars only to sit in horrible traffic as 5,000 people tried to leave at once. How do all these people move at the same time and yet still get somewhere? This cannot possibly work.

But it does work. The impossible happens and soon we’re home. It worked because we all got along for a time. For a moment we were a little less selfish, less rude, and more united. We became more pluribus than unum.

That’s the way the herd works. And I’ve never experienced anything better.

Readers can write to Joe at Joehudsn@gmail.com and Facebook (View from the Hudson). He is author of “Big Decisions are Best Made with Hot Dogs” and “A View from the Front Porch.”