Are we listening?

The sun shines brightly, the flowers are in bloom, and here I am, sitting inside, hammering away at these keys without any idea as to what direction I want to take this entry. Of all the sitting and observing I do, there must be something for me to share with all of you.

I suppose I can begin about two night ago when I had a chat with my friend about attachment. He was troubled over an event in which someone he knew - a friend or relative, I'm not exactly sure - insisted her children wear a certain brand of garment; he couldn't understand what the big deal was. Perhaps it means so much to this individual because she identifies these brands with acceptance in society; that is to say, by having her offspring seen wearing this brand or that, her peers view her as competent, able to keep up with the Joneses, as the old saying goes. Of course, we couldn't end our discussion here, for it spawned the question of how she came to harbour such a belief. Why are certain brands associated with "success"? I used, as an example, the hooded sweatshirt I was wearing, an ordinary garment without anything exciting printed on it, and compared it to an identical garment in every way save for the one difference: it has a brand printed across its front. Each item can cost the same amount to make and use the same materials, but because one is distributed by a more popular brand, it is worth more. We pay exorbitant sums of money not for items, but for the names on them. This never ceases to amaze me; it certainly amazed my friend.

So society won't accept me if I do not dress a certain way or wear a certain brand or own a certain car, et cetera, et cetera. Doubtless you've heard this all before. Can we expand this to include how we view people? Do we view certain figures in the same manner as we do these brands? Lately, I've done some reading on deference to authority; suffice to say, I've opened my eyes to some fascinatingly frightening stuff. I learned that we can convince nurses to administer lethal injections to patients simply by posing as a doctor. I learned that I can don an expensive three-piece suit and people will take me seriously. In short, people aren't listening to me; rather, they're listening to my brand. Scary, isn't it? Might this remind you of what's happening around us? Do we defer to certain people based on their titles, threads or trappings, as Robert Cialdini called them? Are we more likely to listen to someone because s/he has the Conservative/Liberal/Socialist tag attached? Or because he is a he or she is a she? Or because this individual is affiliated with a particular ethnic or religious group?

How about when we perceive ourselves as the authority? Recently, I observed a debate between two individuals hailing from different campus social enclaves. I could have easily taken a side and joined the fray, but I opted for standing aside and watching what the two were doing. Much like the war they were debating, their discussion waged on and on with no end in sight, each side just as eager at the other to fire shots at her/his counterpart. I doubt if any of them were aware of the connection between theirs and every other conflict, bloody or no, the world over. To me, it seemed each side perceived her/himself as the authority on the matter and that her/his solution must be told, come what may.

It's amazing how something so superficial has enough power to get us to stop listening. There are certain elements who love nothing more than a docile populace and aim to keep it that way. Hey, if our attachments bring us comfort, why bother ridding ourselves of them?

Malcolm X once said, "If you take up arms, you'll end it, but if you sit around and wait for the one who is in power to make up his mind that he should end it, you'll be waiting a long time." What is "it" we need to end? War? Suffering? Exploitation? Ignorance? How does "it" end? Are we going to wait for an authority to tell us how to end it: By buying more stuff? By voting for a certain party? By praying?

How do we become free from all of this? How do we arm ourselves?

Listen.