Being stereotypical

Being stereotypical

Is it right to follow the herd always? Why should the herd always be right? Is it really that difficult to think for yourself? Should you keep your thoughts that go against what everyone else thinks, to yourself?

Where is the “herd”? What constitutes it? Who decides the direction that the herd will take?

Maybe the answer to these questions lies in the current state of world society. Why do we rely on the government to take decisions on our behalf? Why do we elect people to take decisions on our behalf? Is it because we’re incompetent? Granted that the gifts needed for being a leader of the masses is bestowed upon a select few, but does that mean that the rest of us mere mortals resign to the fact that we can’t do anything?

Why does rot creep into society? Is it because the masses that endow a select few with power are too scared to revolt against what they deem is wrong? This is not the Stone Age anymore where society consisted of men and their immediate surroundings but has the human social network evolved into something so complex that some must dedicate their entire lives to deciphering its intricate, interconnected webs? Can’t the common man decide which nationalities of people he’d like to get along with and which he’d be neutral to and to which select few he’d be hostile to? Ok ok, I’m sounding a little crazy here, wanting to take the world back to the age of tribal clashes and the like but just give it a thought, would the world be better if each had his own?

How can one guarantee that the opinions of George bush, for instance, are representative of the views of America at large? How can this be true when there are large factions, (it’s not right to call them factions, actually) of people who beg to differ?

Coming back to a more “back home” example of people following the herd, just look at the masses of engineering hopefuls who long with all their heart to get in to that coveted branch called “EXTC”, What a bunch of losers they are , who can’t even expand that to its full form. Now which part of the sky did this concept of “scope” fall out of? Who makes scope? I’d say you make your own scope. What’s the use of getting into that branch only to find out too late that you don’t like it and lose interest and ultimately fail? Who told them that that branch in particular was interesting? How can someone else decide for you where your interests ultimately lie? Isn’t that stupid? I wonder where the person who started this information trail is today. How can you place so much trust in the words of others, even your friends? They may mean well, but you have to take everything with a pinch of salt?

Among another disturbing trend that I’ve resisted from becoming a part of is the coaching class culture. Why must learning be done in air conditioned class room, outside school or college? Let’s not forget for a minute here that Einstein probably learnt to think the way he did, not in a coaching class with a bunch of zombies, but in his school. It’s here that minds and thought patterns are shaped. A coaching class can at the most, get you marks on a piece of paper and little else. Whose dream was it to be turned into a book digesting zombie? (Insert that cranberries song-Zombie here). Can a zombie think for himself (or itself)? Doesn’t the same apply for any one of those stupid products of the common coaching classes? You claim that you have more marks than me, but really smarty pants, how smart are you? Can you stretch your knowledge of the fundamentals to something new? Can you answer my question if the answer is not in your book? Can you defend yourself in an argument? Do the folks at your classes teach you the ways of life? Do they teach you that the world extends far beyond the last page of your textbook?

Who profits at the end of this futile quest for marks? Your pockets are lighter and the people you pay at that fancy coaching class have pockets so heavy they can’t even support all that cash. You’re none the wiser, just poorer. Why must school be your passport to the board exam? Is that what the thoughts of some have reduced it to?

One attends a coaching class, tells his mates and soon a mass exodus follows with no apparent head to the herd, no top dog, no bull in command. Where does this lead? Nowhere.

Stand up. Be counted, be yourself. Unbelong. Be you.

Peace.

PS- I have a little more time on hand now as the saga of the oral exams has ended,( finally, long overdue) and there’s more carnage to come but I seek the armour that will protect my soft flesh from the piercing arrows of the exams.