Break The Limiting Boundaries
Today’s politics is concerned and influenced immensely by boundaries, division, and definitions: Republican vs. Democrat, Biden vs. Trump, minority vs. majority, conservative vs. liberal, Silicon Valley’s venture capitalists vs. New York Times’ liberal journalists, and the list could go on forever.
Today’s politics is concerned and influenced immensely by boundaries, division, and definitions: Republican vs. Democrat, Biden vs. Trump, minority vs. majority, conservative vs. liberal, Silicon Valley’s venture capitalists vs. New York Times’ liberal journalists, and the list could go on forever.
And honestly, it’s not just about politics. Boundaries, restrictions, and determinating definitions are pervasive everywhere. We draw numerous lines in our everyday life. We stop ourselves from being not-so-masculine because we are MEN or from being not-so-feminine because we are WOMEN; We resist thinking of a world without singular divinity because it’s a consequential sin when you are a Muslim; We don’t follow the politically BLUE on their powerful and practical strategies toward the more-than-real problem of climate change simply because our political hue is aggressively RED; We don’t act unabashedly, because we encaged ourselves within the hypothetical bars of definitions.
Creating the boundary of limiting definitions is even worse when we are talking about completely hypothetical things that, practically, the argument over them won’t change anything. For example, that much resentment and controversy around the topic of sexuality and sexual orientation is nonsensical. What would it change if someone believes that they are an example of a stereotypical woman or they are physiologically a woman and accept that they are a woman but don’t want to define themselves based on the typical definitions? Or maybe someone doesn’t want to be called “he” or “she”: you want people to use “they” to refer to you. That’s completely O-FU**ING-KAY. What’s all the fuss about? I mean, if someone is happier that way, let people call them “they” when it’s not going to ruin anyone’s life and just make the person feel more themselves. You may argue that they are “physiologically” – Oh, Gosh, these days, this term makes me vomit my testicles out – a man or a woman, so based on science, we must call them “he” or “she.” Right, but what would happen if you call them “they”? You will defy the role of thermodynamics?
Our efforts to constantly categorize and define and limit, specifically social matters, make us more and more divided without giving us any practical leverage. The only thing it does is limit us and keep us further from who we want to be. I don’t want to put myself within the arbitrary confines of terms and definitions. I neither want to be a strict Democrat nor a Republican; I want the ability to maneuver and change my opinion and agree with whomever I want. I neither want to be gay nor straight; I want to have a relationship with the people I love. I neither want to be Muslim nor Atheist; I want to have my own moral and spiritual views. I neither want to be an archetypal man nor a prototypical woman; I want to be as masculine or as feminine as I want. I don’t want to define myself with the terms others created: I’m the one who defines who I am.
Sorry, but I’d use any opportunity to put a picture of me.
These types of arguments – what is what, and who is who – are not going anywhere. They just make us segregated and keep us from committing resultful things. We should put more focus on things that make practical changes and let people be anyone they’d like to be and let them define their views, sexuality, morality, and personality on their own terms.
Definitions are not intrinsically bad; they can make explaining things easier. But when they become the center of attention and the core of our identity, they turn into cages for our attitudes and opinions to keep us with our flawed beliefs without the opportunity to change.
Free yourself from the rabbit hole of setting bars and be whoever you really are.
