The Oppressions of Society? The most difficult task we have is to defeat social oppression, stifle others’ potential, and cage our spirit. A burdensome, cruel, manipulative, or unjust exercise of judgment, authority, or power against us. When our parents control us to the point where we are unable to be ourselves.
If a lover forbids us from doing what they say, they threaten to withhold their love. We are suffocated by culture’s dogma when we try to follow our own spiritual beliefs, but the boss lies and threatens us to keep quiet. The act of holding another back by petty judgments, harsh criticisms, demeaning comments, injuries, unreasonable expectations, or direct or indirect actions.
When others make us feel insignificant, powerless, or unworthy, this is an effect of oppression. There are a number of artificial barriers erected by a controlling society including informal rules or formal bureaucracies that limit people based on their background, class, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual preference, age, or appearance. People who have experienced mockery or manipulation can recall dramatic moments of being ridiculed or manipulated for being different.
We can remember situations in which we compromised ourselves for the sake of avoiding conflict. For the sake of getting along with others, we sacrificed some of our integrity. School or work became a place where we acted like “them”. In order to get what we wanted, we faked it, wore a smile, and followed the instructions. The sting of their judgment or silence of ostracism prevented us from doing all we could to avoid it.
The main thing we hoped for was security, acceptance, and belonging. When others’ methods diminish our identity or prevent us from reaching our goals, social oppression is at work. Often those of us who are the most highly adaptable are the least aware of this process and are also the least successful and authentic. They have adapted into predictable characters and have lost their spontaneity and authenticity.
In the mirror, they do not recognize themselves anymore; they have lost their individuality; they have become caricatures of collective preferences. In order to avoid such a fate, every freethinker must remain vigilant in refusing to conform. Yet conformity is a major enemy of personal freedom because it gives people a sense of security. Society’s rewards and structures provide individuals with the order.
We rarely find deep meaning in job titles, raises, advisory board positions, and public acclaim. It is true that they can make it easier for us to feel confident about our direction. Our actions are likely to be accepted if we follow preordained paths and do what others do. Would we find those things to be unimportant if we chased them and believed in them? We are inviting danger into our lives when we ask such a question when we rattle conformity’s cage.
After being freed from its cage, an animal finds itself alone, unsure of what to do, separated from its familiar life and surroundings. It can be paralyzing to experience sudden uncertainty. What would we do, where would we go, behave, and find meaning in life if we had total freedom? It can be frightening to ask these questions. As a result of this uncertainty, vulnerability and loneliness are also risks.
Our vulnerability comes from being beyond the safe bars of the cage, which limit us while making us feel safe. A freed person is no longer seen as a part of the cage by those still trapped inside. Our greatest fears may be brought about by refusing others’ expectations, such as being isolated or abandoned, deemed inferior, and unlovable. There are, however, other risks associated with following other people’s rules. We can also lose sight of our true selves if we chase after the prizes society tells us we should want.
What percentage of artists have turned their backs on their art because they were told they needed to make money in a traditional manner? Are there many talented people who ignore their strengths so they can fit into a more needed but less fulfilling role? What percentage of people have given up their dreams for more secure, profitable, and socially acceptable paths? If we are not vigilant, the goals of others (our parents, teachers, spouses, fans) can become our goals.
They can replace our quest for something new with their certitude. Our search for our individual meaning can be subjugated by their collective meaning. Yes, let’s be cautious. As a result of others and our culture, we can quickly lose ourselves. Instead of being free and genuine humans, we become slaves to opinion. One of the greatest miseries in life is not being able to live a life that is our own. Therefore, it is difficult to choose between the comforts of fitting in and pleasing others and our higher motive for personal freedom.
Our freedom is easier to choose once we have reached the level of maturity and enlightenment that allows us to see that it is possible to do so. It is important to understand that independence does not preclude interdependence, and that individuality does not mean we have to be socially or spiritually isolated outcasts.
Our ability to connect with and contribute to the world increases as we become more true to ourselves. We find that the more free, spontaneous, and authentic we become, the more motivated and alive we become, and the more appealing we become to others.
