Too High Standards, Eh?

Well, if standards are personified, and held high in accord, they would probably ensemble around bigotry and arrogance. And, arrogance would most likely stretch a hand towards being dismissive and belittling others. Certainly questioning the dignity of labour.

In our daily lives, how many times have we encountered such instances where we blatantly judged people when they made significant contributions in the field of art, science or theater, based on their social backgrounds? Not to mention how they fared three years back, and how they have made it to the top. Here’s the thing. No matter how much ever high standards we have, the universe doesn’t give us the authority to belittle people.

Some stalwarts have opined that the pandemic has put our valiant egos in place, and replaced it with helplessness. I second that thought, and it’s my firm conviction that every ant has its day, and have sworn my due allegiance to it. Where does all this pride come from then? And, how on earth does this hefty ego mushroom? Coming to think of it, it only elucidates on the low self-esteem that one possesses. 

In one of his sayings, the Dalai Lama has put forth, “Compassion is the radicalism of our time”. If deciphered in the correct sense, it would come to the knowledge that his words were apt and accurate, as we hardly pause to think if our words hurt the person at the receiving end! We seem to have taken the Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression too seriously, without realising the repercussions of the last part where it mentions ‘without hurting the sentiments of others’.

And that is not okay, and can never be normalised under any circumstances. Similarly, bullying, whether in person or on the web, isn’t cool. So is body shaming or generalising people on the basis of caste, creed, social background, or religious faith. If we can exude a gentle show of arrogance and enlighten on the fact that our so-called high standards speak for themselves. Then, that’s nothing but draconian, and carcinogenic, to oneself and to the society.

Humanity doesn’t encircle around how many Rolls Royces’ you have, or what Louis Vuitton bag you are wearing, or how proficient your English is, it all zeroes down to how benevolent and polite you are, while communicating with people, especially among the deprived sections of the society. And, if you falter, or fail to bring a smile on their faces, then your so-called ‘high standards’ are nothing but a farce!