While you have a point (do not follow style for style's sake), these "language scolds" are quite correct when the goal is to write maintainable code. (And it should be, for any non-small program!) If you think you will never have to revisit your code to fix or improve it (say, a one-time script), you are indeed free to ignore best practises and just write something that works.

Thus spake the master programmer:
"Though a program be but three lines long, someday it will have to be maintained."