Living in a cynical society has its ups and downs; the ups are that we (many of us) question every piece of information that is given to us, the downs are that we spend our days living through a very negative perspective. This negative perspective is usually directed towards things that are out of our comfort zone or something we simply cannot relate to. This way of life unfortunately has taken away our ability to empathize – this is also often seen reflected in people’s speech.
The freedom of speech is one that most people hold very dearly – and rightfully so; it is a crucial aspect of a free society. However many of us tend to misuse its purpose; people consistently use it oppress and ridicule others while it should be used to uplift and encourage. Hate speech often is not just part of the race issue – it thrives in domains of sexuality, gender, cultures, ethnicities, and even down to something as petty as the fads/trends people follow. Sadly, the mix of cynicism and lack of verbal filter has made it socially acceptable (and even ‘humorous’ to an extent) to be a mean person.
Truth is that words hurt – and if you don’t have anything nice to say, why say it at all? We’ve posted a video below to help you get the idea of how terrible it feels to be at the brunt of someone’s bitterness.
The experiment describes how a recent visitor to Lithuania gets a message on his social media profile in Lithuanian and since he cannot translate, he asks the people around him for help. Upon reading the message, their hearts immediately sink; the content of the message is very racist. They almost feel guilty and responsible for the wrong doing; some even begin to almost cry while others just want to protect the man. Looking at their faces, you can tell that it is not something they wish this man has to endure.
Now, we understand that most people will never say anything so demeaning to anybody – but we hope we helped spark some compassion for others in you in general. After all, empathy is more than necessary in helping us maintain a harmonious and peaceful society.
Don’t get us wrong, speaking your mind is very much encouraged. For example, it’s encouraged speaking up against the elected “leaders of our society” when their actions only benefit their pockets and not our society or if you see someone harassing another helpless person. However using it to dispense any personal negativity is not the best use for it – a little bit of self-censorship has never hurt anyone, that’s all.
Comment below and let us know how you feel about this topic.
