Here I find myself staring at the keyboard, ready to be judged by a group of individuals I have never encountered in my life. I wonder what convinced me to accept this, hell, I don’t even remember planning to write this blog piece.
Late nights really aren’t the best time for a caffeine-powered brain to come up with something creative. As I struggle to figure out what to write about, my last two brain cells tell me that the answer to most questions (yes, even the ones that don’t need answers) can be found while scrolling through reddit. So, I did.
After a few minutes of scrolling and upvoting (for I seldom downvote), I arrived at the conclusion that Homo sapiens are one of the most confusing species of animals ever. Quite a bold claim for someone who is neither qualified nor possesses a degree, but if you’ve come so far reading this, I believe I might as well dig deeper into it.
But before I begin, I must make some necessary arrangements at my end. You see, coffee is like rocket fuel to me, giving that extra stimulus to my grey cells. For my drained and weary soul, I must stick to instant coffee for now. My apologies to those who were expecting freshly grinded filtered coffee, for it is beyond my culinary expertise. The scent and flavour of my coffee may not be at par with the premium Brazilian beans, but it’ll do for me now.
Now back to the topic...take for example, a large group of people gathered together at the same place to rally or deliberate on a particular issue. This group has two choices for their method of action. They may choose to conform as per rules and regulations to spread awareness of their cause. Alternatively, they may choose not to conform. In an in-group, people oftentimes conform to questionable norms. The root of conformity arises from the act of insecurity and discomfort in being the odd one out.This extensive desire to fit in leads to fading awareness.
The loss of self-awareness is partly because we feel like we're not responsible for our actions as individuals when we're part of a big crowd.
Anonymity is something most of humanity, in their subconscious mind, yearns for, yet none of us are able to handle it. This makes me wonder, if the wisest of apes in the evolution pyramid can’t handle such a thing, then who do we trust?
Maybe my ideals are flawed. But hey, flaws are a part of us.
By this time, I notice that the coffee on my table has gone cold. “Just the way I like it”, I muttered to myself. My apologies for digressing too far.
With the recent events around the world, one can’t help but feel caught up in a colossal mess. It seems like my cup of coffee: cold, bitter and all over the place.
But just like my coffee, we can make it warmer, aromatic and much better. Maybe, that’s not how the current scenario is, but one can always keep wishing for it. Now, do excuse me while I handle the mess I just made...
-By Aarush Das
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