Are they watching?

In today’s society,individuals who aren’t afraid to be who they are and stand out are labelled as strong and confident; traits to be emulated.  Children are taught that they must possess self assuredness and that will attract others to them as friends.  At work individuals are encouraged to dress, act and function in the manner desired by their employers and peers, and are constantly being asked asked the question, ‘Are you a (insert employer’s name here) man/woman?’  In a world which values social interaction and the compliance of the individual to a set path in this hamster wheel we call the 21st Century, how is an individual supposed to be himself/herself?

All aspects of the individual’s life is predetermined and dictated to him/her.  Media houses are the mouth pieces of those few who determine what is good or bad, and into which categories individuals are place.  In the instances when an individual claims to do what they desire one of three things happens:

1. he/she are subconsciously gravitating towards the acceptable practices of the day

2. he/she are aware of the acceptable practices and are deliberately straying from it

3. he/she is still concious of what others say or do not say about them (e.g. an individual saying they dress as they please but refuses to leave their house in the same outfit too frequently because of what others will think.  Or, in the same scenario they claim that they do not care but just do not want to do it.  Why are they uncomfortable doing it?  Is it because subconsciously they have been socialised to think it is unacceptable and others will decry it?)

In every case, society and the opinion of others form what individuals deem is good, acceptable, enviable, what should be avoided and what should be coveted. Any new invention,any work of art, any scientific breakthrough, way of thinking or idea, before it can be deemed a success, has to pass through the acid test of the opinions of others.  After all, like a shirt in the mall,if I do not like it, for whatever reason, it won’t sell and profits won’t be made.  Further, it has to be liked by the right person and opinion determines who that right person is…the circle of society.

But… this can be as much a positive guide as it is a gilded cage.  If individuals were completely free of the fetter of caring about public opinion (whether that opinion be a majority of 1 or 1 billion) there would be chaos and a complete breakdown of society.  Individuals need to believe that what they do affects others and so the opinions,joys and sufferings of others must be taken into account.  Without this, there will be no successful human relationship, and the species would either die out or exist solely because individuals remain together long enough to conceive and mothers bear the company of children for the minimum amount of time with the minimum amount of interaction to ensure their survival.  And that, as the world knows, is a recipe for disaster.

So whatever your personal belief, the Bible speaks the truth when it declared that Man was not meant to be alone.