How do anyone’s opinions but for ours matter in any way?
We have been conditioned for eons to care about what others have to say about our actions. We have been taught to value the opinions of every tom, dick and harry in every phase of life. Do these opinions really matter at all? Why then, should we care?
Consider a prostitute…. What comes to mind is a woman of low morals, a woman who trades her flesh day in and day out. But it is her profession. We wax eloquent that profession is a personal choice. Then why is it that the prostitute’s choice is criticized till there is not a shred of self respect left in her? I’m not one to argue that every prostitute is a victim of her fate or circumstances. I’d rather say that she chooses it for herself and she does so knowing fully well, the implication of her choice.
Coming back to the issue of opinions of people…..An average passer by who will be more than glad to spend a few hundred bucks “to attain nirvana” at night, assumes a moral high ground the next morning and scorns the prostitute’s profession. We worry about the opinions of such hypocrites. We put up our values for examination by such spineless morons. This might seem rude or offensive. But we really need to question if anyone is worthy of passing judgment on another’s actions.
I firmly believe that our actions are governed by what we think is right and that we do only those things that our value set permits us to. Aren’t we ourselves the highest approving authorities of our own actions? Then why do we search elsewhere for approval? Why do we hesitate to look within? Why don’t we grow in confidence when deep within we feel we are doing the right thing? Instead we keep furtively searching for approval from our peers, from our superiors, from just about anybody.
We take so much pain to make sure we always stay well within the allowed boundaries of freedom as drawn by the society. We do things the same clichéd way again and again, lest we are different from our fellowmen. We fear to do things our own way, we fear to set new precedents, lest we are singled out and ridiculed. We instantly weaken our stand on things and give up our ideals when the protective web of people we have woven around ourselves is threatened. We ourselves extinguish every spark of idea we might have. All this we do in the name of fitting into society. We hide behind the façade of a “social animal”.
Why do we need to be social animals? Why can’t we just be human beings, unique human beings? Uniqueness is not appreciated and fostered. We willingly push ourselves into the abyss of mediocrity. We take pains to hide every bit of individuality in us by trying to be just like others, and all this just for mere acceptance from a bunch of faceless people.
Is all this really worth it, rather, are they really worth it? If they are, then who are they?
