“Our lives begin to end the day when we become silent about the things that matter.”
-Martin Luther King Jr.
This week, I decided not to post anything related to the books or movies or the webseries which I do watch and end up dissecting and analyzing about. But instead, felt I should maybe have a heartfelt conversation as well as gain insights as how we can make ourselves change? The reason why I decided to bring up this conversation was a lot of things happen around us and yet we don’t seem to do much about it. Instead, we try to push the things under the mat and try not to speak about it . But the only question that runs in my mind is that why are we not vocal about issues which are persistent ? Is it our ignorance or is it just that we do not seem to care. Or is it because of our business as usual attitude?
A lot of coverage was given to the horrific incident which took place recently in Kolkata but what was the conclusion drawn? A similar incident took place in Uttarakhand and in a lot of places including Badlapur in Mumbai which highlighted only one major thing- that unless and until there is a huge outcry for any incident, we just push the matter below the mat. We as human beings instead of addressing the issue to the core just tend to make a hue and cry about that thing for a few days and then after we get the next sensational piece of information, our attention gets diverted to that piece of information thus leaving the previous issue which was burning or being discussed left in the lurch. Right now, the hue and cry is about safety of women and children in my country, but believe me this drama about talking about this issue will only extend upto a few more days. Before, the current hue and cry , the topic which was trending in my country was the future of medical students following the NEET exam scam. But instead of addressing the core issue we just keep highlighting on pieces that will gain the maximum eyeballs or ears . This is because sensationalism sells . And unfortunately, this is where the problem lies.
But if we really really want to bring in a change within ourselves or the society around us, it is high time that we address the root cause and take steps to address the same. When we start taking this approach instead of just letting things happen, then maybe slowly things will start to change for good. For instance, its been almost 100+ years since women demanded their rights to be treated as equal as men ? But has the gender gap reduced? Maybe up to an extent but we still have a long way to go. Every time we make a huge hue and cry when some injustice takes place but have we able to reduce the root cause of the injustice ? Or we do make a huge noise about the pathetic conditions of the roads in the monsoon for instance but are we ensuring accountability so that the same thing is prevented in the future? It is easy to raise a voice but it is tough to take measures which will ensure prevention as well as accountability of the same.
We may not be able to enter the field of politics due to some or the other reason , but at least we can start taking initiatives from our part . After all charity begins at home. Like for instance, we can start from breaking the typical gender stereotypes. We can make it acceptable that a boy can also play with a doll and a girl can play with a car instead of forcing upon what our girls and boys should do. A boy can help with chores in the kitchen and can also cook instead of making it a girl’s primary duty. Or it is really not okay for anyone including the people who are a part of your family to touch you inappropriately even if you are a small child and not wise enough to understand the world around you. Or that the men of the house have the same right to express their feelings just like women do.
How we address the large issues always begins with how we address the small yet important issues at home. And it is when we address the small yet important issues, do we find the courage to take upon the challenges of addressing the large issues and bring in a change slowly yet steadily. It is when we become more vocal about the issues which plague us and start holding the people in charge accountable and ensure that proper action is taken that we bring in a change .Unless and until we do that , we are just making a fool out of ourselves and just committing those old mistakes. So maybe it is a high time to be the change the world wants to see . Don’t let anyone not even you disagree with the fact that we are not capable of bringing a change . This is because when we can have the entire universe reside in us, then maybe we do have the power to bring in a change for the good as well.
