We are born into a social structure that favors authority over query (regardless of how "free-thinking"-oriented western cultures purport themselves to be). From the cradle we are essentially programmed for conformity so that we can coexist in the social structure we will be forced to live within. This conformity can be viewed as a means of survival (eg: "what, you are not going to go to college...you will fail as a member of society!")

Of course there is variation in levels of conformity among people and my thought is that basically relates back to one's home life, how the parents chose to illuminate the world for the child during it's formative years. It is important we educate (at least our own kids) the next generation to be true free-thinkers, to know how to question, to know how to acquire knowledge about the world lest they become absorbed by it.