Our Society Today

What would happen if one day you woke up and realised that your existence relied on a series of false and contradicting societal standards?

What do we do? Live our lives, eyes closed, conscience shut and morals on edge hoping that the manner in which we conduct ourselves will change who we are and break us from the spell of normality?

What do we grow up to be? We think as we breathe in the belief that our thoughts will trigger great deeds and that our great deeds will result in only an ounce of change in the world, for the better of it. But does it? We study in order to succeed in securing a gratifying paid job in order to support the suburban family we have generated. It is approved by the rest of our entourage because we perpetuate these values pushed upon us for the past centuries.

To be different is to be hypocritical. I AM NOT A SHEEP. I pretend I do not care about these models in choosing a selfish life with my partner in the city. No, we do not have any children of our own because we care too much about our careers and about what is to become of ourselves as we age but in retrospect, we contribute to the betterment of our capitalist society as we earn more to spend and invest more, encourage growth and purchasing power for the rest of us. We are different because we are free to decide from the choice society gives us.

We are not free. We are not free because in contradicting and rebelling against values, morals and standards, we are in fact locking ourselves in an infernal sphere of difference, in an unorthodox manner. You walk around in the streets and notice the clothes people wear. Some people are saying “I take myself seriously” or try to appear so. Others scream for attention, more try to conform to normality in order to blend in better with the robotic crowd.  Rare are those who dress “normally” so to speak and rebel against society in their behavior and actions. If they do they ultimately lose. They lose because they are trapped in a world of their own making. We always find our balance; the “je ne sais quoi” missing in our existence that helps us stay focused and grounded in society. What I mean by society, is the wholeness of it. Its company, its values, its morals. Ultimately, we look back on what we have left behind because if we don’t, we will feel guilty in not having been true to ourselves and admit that the root of our being remains in society. We will always feel whole with a husband, a friend, a family, a job, a place to see, a dish to cook. Those who choose not to abide by this standard seem to miss something else in their lives. They have the job, but choose not to keep the husband. If they have both, they choose not to have the child. If they have none of all this, they choose to make it up by travelling and loving their job.

We all need to abide by at least one societal standard in order to feel complete and satisfied. It can be a job, a best friend, a husband, a child or all of that. We will however want more, always. We are insatiable to the extent that there is always someone who “has it all”. But does he? Isn’t he missing something too? We will never know…