Because Society Says So!
“Oh, we don’t mind. Really, but we have to do this because we have to live in this society”. How many times have you heard this?
Your son/daughter does not want to get married. But you are under”social pressure” to get them married, more so if it is a daughter.
Your son/daughter is in a live in relationship or worse still in a gay/lesbian relationship. What will society say?
Your off-spring marries outside the caste, religion, nationality, takes up a course of study that is off the beaten track. What will the all pervasive society say?
Yes, of course, you would not have said anything. You would have let them have their way, had it not been for that society.
Your daughter-in-law does not wear all the symbols of marriage. She does not perform poojas and rituals. Your young widowed daughter/daughter-in-law/sister ….. is ‘seeing’/going out with someone or is planning to get married. She goes to a social event all dressed up nicely – what will society say?
You lost your husband and are hesitating to attend a social function because you are afraid of “society”. You are afraid of wearing bright coloured clothes. You do not want to bless a newly married couple. You are childless and are afraid to bless a new born baby. Why? The bogeyman society is watching you.
Ask anyone. They do everything they do because society demands it. They have to do so if they have to live in society. Do they believe society is right? May not necessarily be so. “But we cannot change society” is the refrain. PRAY, WHO IS THAT SOCIETY? Who cares today what you do or what you don’t?
You take up a line of study which that “society” expects you to take up. Marry according to the diktats of “society”. You are miserable tomorrow. Where is that “society”? Get onto the rooftop and holler for help? You can be crying in the wilderness. Is anyone bothered? So who is going to live with the effects of their actions? You or society?
Why do we choose to live with such a herd mentality like brainless, witless sheep and refuse to truly “LIVE LIFE” on our own terms and condition? Food for thought isn’t it?
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This entry was posted on July 7, 2013 at 10:16 pm and is filed under Culture, Social with tags Social. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
July 13, 2013 at 7:06 pm
You have taken words which I often use! Echoing exactly the sentiments I too value. ‘Will you go on a rooftop and shout if you see injustice happening?’ is a question I have asked whenever I interviewed people.
Enjoyed reading my, sorry your words!!
July 13, 2013 at 7:16 pm
Thanks Vivek. We do not have elementary courage and turn into unthinking clones, not realizing that the consequences will be dealt with only by us.