Does it not feel that the nation is divided, and this feeling has been persistent for a very long time? And, as the years roll by, the chasm between the two sides seems to widen without any real hope of reconciliation? Or even a false one.
The sad and untimely demise of Sushant Singh Rajput and what followed lends heft to the observation mentioned above.
Often I wonder, is social media a true reflection of what we are or is it what we want to portray to the world around us?
It’s like walking into a beautiful drawing room and carrying the impression that the residents are thoroughly organized and lead impeccable lives. In reality, that may not be the case at all. Or consider the exact opposite. The floor (of another acquaintance) is strewn with clothes, books, and artifacts, an inexplicable display, out to cause severe impairment to human aesthetics. Why do these people insist on making their homes a sty, one wonders? But then as one gets to know them better, the realization strikes – they aren’t any worse off than many others. Only the outside appearance is bereft of any order.
Be that as it may, we don’t have the time to go deep and face value is pretty much what it is for most of us. What we’ve seen in the last few months is decidedly ugly.
What shapes the minds?
One would think that education, travel, a high social standing are forces that shape the mind and lends illumination too. When perfectly educated people with a Masters degree from top universities behave the way they do on social media, one wonders if education has any meaning – or is it just a certificate that works as an access card to open doors of all sizes? Increasingly, that’s the feeling I am getting. Sure, society has brilliant professionals and very capable ones too in their field of work, but beyond that, a greater part of the human brain continues to remain in the dark.
If that were not the case, why would perfectly “normal & respectable” people take it upon themselves to judge people’s character who they’ve never met?
Cast aspersions on their social habits and splash content all over media which are toilet-worthy. This is barely the “Swachh Bharat” one has in mind. And, it’s not just in India, this filth is all over the world. Follow any discourse and the trend is jarringly familiar as much as it is unsettling.
Of course, human curiosity and a fondness for gossip-mongering are all too real. On the one hand, curiosity makes people dig deeper to find out the truth but on the other, it’s a vicious tool, if unchecked, and can cause irreparable damage to humans.
Not everyone has the wherewithal to hire lawyers and file for libel or employ PR firms to resurrect their brand equity. Most of us who have have been hit hard by falsely-drawn inferences and have been called names, have to suffer quietly the ignominy of it all.
With time, the pain washes away. It’s meant to. And then we see another face being hoisted for a “crime” they may/may not have committed. We have two options – move on with our lives or seek revenge in the same currency that we experienced earlier.
Pain, suffering, humiliation, unfair treatment are all part of human existence. Almost no one will leave this world without experiencing any/all of these. We will just not know when it all happened for others and that’s what will make us judgemental. Also, juicy gossip is hard to resist. Again, almost no one will go without having indulged in it. If we can’t remove it from our lives, can we at least try and reduce the frequency?