Wearing Social and Political Masks Is Good or Bad - Essay Example

English, Essay Topic: Write a well-organized, well-developed essay in which you discuss if we are wearing masks of our own free will, or if we are pressured, or even tricked into wearing them. An individual interacts with a number of people in the normal course of day to day activities. One’s disposition with A is different from that of B. If one has ten friends, he knows what to talk with a particular individual and what not to talk. What to reveal and what not to reveal! The hidden agenda is part and parcel of the declared and published agenda. Though the professed inclination is to walk on the royal road, one keeps the option to escape through a secret route. The priorities are guided by considerations other than what people are expected to believe. We own a mask during the presentation of the issues, which is utilized as the protective umbrella. This invisible mask is a great study tool to judge the personality and the moods of an individual. The mask impacts all parts of the body like facial expressions, movements of the legs and feet. Mask controls the reactions on one’s countenance. The wise saying goes, ‘you can fool some for all time, all for some time, but not all for all time.’ Pretense will not pay in the long run; knowing this aspect fully well, yet one pretends! The shadow is not the real person, yet we give importance to the shadow. One goes to any extent to please an individual by pretense. An individual wearing mask wages the permanent war with his inner self thinking of the possible victory through guile. One makes the maximum use of the grin by switching it on and off. Wearing the mask need not be with negative intention to outsmart others always, but with the genuine desire to hide the true emotions and sufferings. One prefers to suffer silently than to expose the true feelings and share the sympathy of others. An individual wearing the mask is compared to an actor in a drama, who delivers the rehearsed dialogues to impress the spectators. We tend to put on a façade (mask) in life, and hide our true feelings, either due to compulsion of circumstances or due to the force of habit to find acceptance from the society. We pretend to be happy though something pierces our heart intensely. Social and Political Masks Shirking responsibility and buttering people to secure quick results by wearing the masks of falsity have become the way of life in the present times, impacted by materialistic civilization. Such individuals use social masks to intimidate and to exercise authority over others. Masks will only serve to get temporary results; they do not have permanent worth. A person wearing masks is not willing to share responsibility, but only interested in getting rewards. The power generated by wearing the mask, is the negative one, it is not conducive to secure good results on an ongoing basis. When a politician wearing the mask is unmasked, he stands to lose majority of the following and suddenly becomes a political non-entity. From that position it is rather impossible to regain the lost prestige and authority. Wearing the social masks should not be interpreted to the extremity. Everyone has compulsions to act differently with different types of people. One’s interaction with the spouse, parents, servants, employees and other people is bound to be different. One has to act true to the relationship, conforming to its essential dignity, without being dishonest. In the current world scenario, politicians have a tough time in making use of the masks. Since there are no permanent friends or foes in politics but only permanent interest, wearing the mask becomes inevitable to serve the national interest as conceived by the particular politician who is duty-bound to implement the policy of the government of the country that he is representing. Such an individual is not in a position to open all his cards and has to act within the limitations of his brief. Wearing the mask is not an action of permanent evil. Sometimes, to challenge the evil, one has to don the mask. As the wise saying goes, ‘remove the thorn by another thorn.’ Similarly to unmask a masked man, one needs to wear the mask temporarily. It is not desirable to use masks at all times, and make it a permanent feature of the personality of an individual. The question is one of balance. Use the masks when absolutely necessary. There exists a good market for wearing masks in America, a materialist country by all standards. Politicians wear masks as a matter of compulsion, as they have to deal with leaders of many countries, in which America has different types of political and economic interests. For example the mask that is needed to negotiate with the leaders of China is different from the one that is required for dealing with the politicians of Iran. To balance the ethnic relations, the simmering discontent between the white and black races, the political leaders and social activists have compulsions to wear masks. Business, marketing and masks When interacting with a sales representative, take it for granted that you are dealing with an individual wearing the mask. He is representing his business establishment and selling the goods in the market where fierce competition exists. It is his bread-winning job. In that situation, instead of blaming the one who is wearing the mask, it is better that one uses the power of discrimination to deal with such an individual. If the representative crosses the borders of ethics, tries to sell a sub-standard product for an exorbitant price, do not fall into the trap. An intelligently and imaginatively worded advertisement for the promotion of a newly launched product is nothing but the case of use of mask. Be wary about your approach, and do not buy the product, because a famous sportsperson or an attractive model is appealing for your support for the product. Conclusion Wearing masks is neither permanently good nor permanently bad. One is obliged to take recourse to innumerable types of masks depending upon the circumstances. None can avoid wearing the masks in daily living. One should not be part of the unethical culture of wearing masks, with the hidden agenda of duping others. Wearing masks on more and more occasions and using it as the permanent tool will lead to complications and such a man, when exposed ultimately, is doomed from all ends. Nobody will respect that individual, even if he tells the plain truth. In countries like America, people live and are accustomed to a fast-paced life. At different levels of life they are taught to wear masks to face the fierce competition to achieve their career goals or business ambitions. They are conditioned thus, and move further from the reality. When mask-wearing individuals dominate the society and occupy the pivotal positions, corrupt practices gradually take over, resulting in social unrest. The process of degeneration of the society begins. Knock the portals of the inner world of an individual. Each one wishes to be free from the influence of masks. But basic conditions need to be created for the people to give up masks once for all. It takes the conscious efforts to be free from the influence of wearing the masks and emerge as true individuals. Masks are obstacles for the growth of the personality of an individual. Read More