'The importance of being earnest'

A call for identity retention

by Afreeha Jawad

If you are a keen follower of the social whole, observable indeed is the tendency to lean heavily on to a person, persons or things in whom one feels very secure.

It may range from entry into various socio/political/cultural/religious organisations to even going in twos, threes and fours to the office canteen. As I write you may even recall having got a phone call seeking your company in attending someone's wedding.

I knew of an old woman very possessive of her granddaughter who made life difficult for others in that she kept telephoning friends asking for travelling companionship for the girl even to go shopping.

The old woman today is no more. Others find no time for this girl - now in middle age. Her only fall back state is her pick from the underclass - now turned aide-de-camp or ADC imaging childhood nursery rhyme, 'Everywhere that Mary went the lamb was sure to go."

Identity crisis

Anyway this is just only one case of the hundreds of thousands that suffer identity crisis and the inability to be independent. This then is certainly not writer imagination-verification of which is possible if you care to observe such behaviour.

You could choose either the canteen or some starry hotel reception. None I guarantee would sail in alone. Often have I heard people say "Oh! my god, how can I go alone. Myeeeee.... what will people think" all of which in terms of sociology is social control where one allows others to control you giving priority to what others would think and say. This weakness of will increasingly is related to economics. The global economic system denies man his independence and is not without its ill effects on society.

Dependency theory

This dependency theory increasingly has got hold of man both at individual and national levels - particularly starting post colonial times. Its hold on the human psyche is so intense that humans are disadvantaged into a weakness of will.

Many see the human assembly in whatever form it may come as clubs, organisations or smaller collective units as the herd instinct - an effort into drawing parallels with animals overlooking the enormous potential in man to rise above such territorial demarcations.

"It's the herd instinct you know", is the oft quoted expression purposefully disposed for social acceptance of such as very normal human behaviour. Being a little more creative will help you understand the 'herd instinct' as being system generated and not necessarily a natural characteristic in man.

To prove my point - what if those religious leaders, saints and sages upheld what is termed 'herd instinct'? The world's religions then would not have seen daylight. They by their own will and inner strength went against the 'herd' even challenging it directing the herd itself into what was moral sustenance.

Their obstacles were many but that's altogether a different story. This writer is also reminded of French literary eminence in Voltaire, Rousseau and Montesquieu that spurred, stirred and revolutionised French thought. Jean Jacques Rousseau's "The social contract" has only to be read to realise the importance of being earnest when following the 'herd instinct'.

Dominance

By the way have you even noticed in any companionship, one of the two will always dominate the other. You may have even heard people say, "X is such a nice girl but the other one is spoiling her. She even controls her." This is not far from untrue. The inability of X to stand on her own identity and seeing the other as a landing pad in sorrowful times are loopholes this other turns towards her own advantage.

Even in organisational behaviour what is termed as leadership is the element of control and regretfully not many have the nerve to speak or write against it. The loss of personal benefits and the harm that would follow as a result keep the show going - a "Yes sir" story right along.

We/they dichotomy

Come to think of it - those numerous clubs, organisations, associations, federations, movements, boards, political parties, religious caste, race, collective and what not - I believe are necessary system enlivening agents for they alone in their divide foster what sociology sees as the we/they dichotomy or to use native parlance - 'Apey Man' culture.

Natural man in his natural environment saw the integrated herd only to be replaced by, shall we say the disintegrated herd in socially constructed surroundings so helpful to keep the unipolar global economy bouncing.

Team spirit

This so called herd instinct is also a facilitator in organisational behaviour. Termed as team spirit, the target is towards organisational goals or maximising profits where at individual level the man on the job remains a pauper while credit and coins go to managerial toffs.

This itself is social inequity yet socially licenced. So when the top hierarchical layer sends out that profound difference," "Oh! we work as a team. I'm like a father to you all". It's something of a message alert. The shepherd gets it all perks, privileges and a fattened wallet while the herd remain where they are.

Leaning on to whatever or whoever is unjust be it organisation or an individual is not quite the right thing to do. Currying favour with moral inadequacies is in itself treachery. Justifying a moral wrong with numerous other injustices amounts to not only passporting moral disorientation but also to fostering and propagating moral deviance. The call of the hour is to tread the right pathway upholding one's own identity which is not realizable simply following what is called 'herd instinct', being social, going with the tide, team spirit and all that kind of vulgar, mediocre, very ordinary expressions - the kind of stuff that fosters deceitful system continuity.

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