Society is a prison for us
Yesterday, I was invited by my friend to her nephew's birthday party. I know my friend's nephew. Her name is Shanty, she is 18 years old girl. This year she will enter university having just graduated from Senior High School. I asked Shanty, what major are you going to take at the university? Shanty chose an economics major. However, the study program was not in line with her heart.
Shanty aspires to be a singer and dancer, but for fear of failure and fear of not having an income, Shanty takes a shortcut. Choose an economics management study program so that it is easy for her to get a job and earn an income. This is not the case with Shanty. My high school friend has also experienced something like this, choosing a study program that is not by his conscience. As a result, while in class, my friend was never interested in learning. My friend only pursued passing grades and didn't get any knowledge at university.
People like this usually live in depression and sadness, graduate with not very good grades, and get mediocre jobs and mediocre salaries. It's ironic. Even after getting a salary, they will pay a fairly large living bill, so there is nothing left to save or invest. I feel sad when I hear stories like that. They are young people full of hope. But all hope is lost because of the rules of society. The rules of society kill the dreams and souls of youth.
Society is our colonizer. Society has bound and suffocated us with the rules they created. Everything we do and use has been judged by society. Starting from the way we talk, and clothes, to the way we pee, it's also under the public's opinion. When we fail to do something, society will view us badly. This will cause damage to the way we see ourselves. So that we live in the shadow of the evil created by society.
When a person feels hungry and has no other choice but to steal some bread, society is ready to punish him. However, when someone needs support from the community, there are only insults and judgments. Such is the social construction created by society. This is an authenticity assassination. With the social construction of society like this, we don't become fully human. We constantly deceive ourselves into conforming to society's rules.
We will never feel inner freedom if the rules and norms of society still strangle us. The only freedom that exists is trivial. The mind will continue to hurt and we can only find ways to treat it trivially too. We will continue to fear society's judgments. To free the mind from the grip of society's rules, we must transcend society. We must be able to go beyond the falsehoods we make for ourselves.
When we can transcend society, our minds will be free from the grip of social construction. When we are free with ourselves, we can freely love others not because of the fear of society's rules, but because of the love and freedom that comes from within us. When we want to be singers or dancers, we will focus on learning to sing to be successful, even though there are still obstacles to be faced. Be yourself without having to be afraid of people's judgments.
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