Cliche

Is it cliche to write about cliches?  I'll take the risk...

As a student, I constantly hear my professors tell me cliches are bad and I shouldn't use them in my writing.  The inclusion of a cliche in a paper is an automatic F.

I just don't understand why, on an academic level, cliches are so taboo.  I understand that our educators want us to create new ideas and be innovative, but at the same time, I recognize that people ignore something very special about cliches.  

In a world of over 6 billion people, we can find ways to unite ourselves through commonalities. That's pretty special to me.  

After thinking about it for a while, I discovered why academia shuns cliches:

One of our basic drives as humans and competitors is to differentiate ourselves from one another.  I have to prove I am more creative than Joe Shmo to get the new promotion.  I have to showcase my unique talent to win Miss Teen Georgia.  Cliches prevent us from setting ourselves apart.  And academia puts them aside because the smart thing to do is to assert one's sense of adventure and inimitability.

Rather than put cliches in the "been there done that" pile, I think we should further explore them just to see how intricate and interesting our humanly connections are.  This world is full of evil and hate, so it is especially important to cherish the few bonds we do have with one another.  These bonds keep us sane.  They keep us connected.  They keep us real.