Leon R.M. Auguste

Hey everyone, it’s Leon R.M. Auguste here with another enlightening and informative post.

There’s something both magical and horrifying about the way we treat each other. 

At times, we can be extraordinarily cordial and reliable towards our fellow men, women, and children. But then, there are times when we turn a blind eye to the vast injustices that different people face in our society at all varying levels of our communities. Once you see the varied facets of life in our society, it’s disheartening to know that people suffer from immense harassment or degrading treatment in factories, offices, and other workplaces. 

I always wondered why hierarchy has been such an essential part of our human existence. Of course, I know that the animal’s base instincts rule the “jungle” of the natural world. The systems of hierarchies are all animals know, even if they are obviously not conscious of the kinds of community systems they have set up. But when it comes to humans, we have the capacity for intellectual empathy to a level unseen in any other species. We have the in-depth ability and intellectual power to change how we treat each other.

This leads me invariably to what I’ve been wondering for quite some time now. Past all of the fun, and sometimes severe, competitiveness that is good about our society, there is a side that is less spoken about. The side of ruthlessness. Being “disconnected” from each other has become the norm. It’s looked upon as being “cool” or “acceptable” to be cold and calculating towards those who are either different from ourselves, or perceived to be from a lower socioeconomic level than us. 

But the only thing that these off-the-wall traits lead me to believe is that many people in our society are broken and weak beyond human conception. We don’t even fully understand as a society how gruesome, and surreal pain looks, and truly feels, like. So invariably, there are times that I try to decipher why people are so incredibly mean. 

I’ve come to a very stark conclusion.

The first conclusion I’ve arrived at; is that the person perpetuating deep hatred towards other human beings; is hurt beyond our humanly-known concept of pain. They also feel a lack of control in whatever situation they currently find themselves in. This is an authentic problem and issue, partly since many people face complex situations where they must choose to follow their heart; or follow the rules given out to them.

There are times in a person’s life when even the most challenging or complex scenarios push you between a hard place and a concrete wall.

That’s why I’ve never understood why people, since time immemorial, judge other people for their actions. I’ve come to theorize that anyone who frowns upon someone else’s actions is not in a position to act themselves.

Given the same opportunity, you and I might very well have gone down the same exact path.

Because the truth of our lives is actually quite simple to understand once you really sit down and think about why people would do different things in their given situations. We don’t always know what a person is genuinely going through; all we can do is surmise and “gossip.” But we’ll never honestly know, and I believe people would rather not know the many hidden truths hiding in plain sight. It endows into their very soul a sense of deep-rooted fear. A sense of extreme frustration that we, the “peons” of the world, are summarily powerless and can do nothing to stop those who hold positions of power.

It’s as though humans have long abandoned living life and have instead resorted to going through the motions of “reacting” to events outside of their own personal jurisdictions.

We’ve effectively come to a place in life where the mass majority of us can only observe what happens to us. As a result, we are not allowing ourselves to act on any of the injustices we see in the world without harsh consequences imposed upon us if we were to do so. 

In essence, we can do nothing about changing the way things are currently run. But of course, even if we attempted to make any real change, power has a funny way of rearing its ugly head. Even if we “installed” new people into leadership positions, they would eventually change into the very beasts we tried to do away with.

Thus, we’ve come to another contradiction of life. Having power for too long of a time, in any form of manifestation, will only lead to further corruption of that individual’s body, mind, and soul. 

Since most people aren’t willing to admit that power actually changes the way we as human beings think and process information.

The other type of person who is mean-spirited is on the opposite side of the spectrum. They’re the type of person who is in no position to act.

They are likely the product of overbearing parents or guardians, whether it be a father or mother. You see like I alluded to in my previous posts, life is full of contradictions. It can seem very strange to hear this, but being too “overbearing” on your child can have just as many adverse effects. Of course, you also don’t want to be so hard on your child that you completely cut all ties with them. But parenting, just like many other things, requires you to find some semblance of “normality.” This is starkly different from “balance.” 

By “normality,” I mean that you need to create your own family environment of what’s acceptable and “normal” for your child to grow up in. It might be difficult at first because you instinctually want to take care of your child’s every whim. But by being overbearing, you are guaranteeing your child a life of pain and suffering beyond what humans already endure. You are, in effect, disabling your child from becoming the adult they need to be as a grown human being to survive out there in our still beautiful world. But, again, the world they would live in is only shaped by the childhood you give them. 

Once you understand that your child will always find something to blame you for, you can begin to accept that you control how you parent your child. Then, you have the reign to let them grow, to let them fail while they’re still young and naïve. Only then will they begin to understand the importance of “getting back up” after a hard fall.

Suppose you aren’t allowing them to “fail” (or fall, both literally and metaphorically). In that case, your child won’t be ready for the different realities of the world. Without failure, there is no growth.

In truth, we will never fully satisfy every single person’s needs and wants out of a single society. Thus, we can strive towards a more peaceful existence. We simply need to begin finding people we connect with the most and stick with them. That’s our best bet of making our society worth living in.

But you see, we must realize that leading this kind of life will invariably lead the concept of “others” to intensify even further. Thus, we will see races divided to levels of existence long forgotten. There’s no humanly way to fully encompass the full scope and depth of injustices we as humans face. After all, that is what makes the experience of life both such a thrill and a tragedy as well.

If you take anything away from this post, I would want it to be for you to empower yourself by understanding that you still hold some power in your hands. 

You can still change your fate and future. You just need a fresh start or a new environment. If you have the means to, I would even say you should try your luck in a different town, city, or even country.

By “freeing yourself,” you begin to give yourself the gift of broader knowledge about your life, about other people’s lives, and about the world in general. As a result, there is a deepening sense of grander to life. Once you begin to force your way through all the lies, deception, and crap, it begins to look brighter. Strive to meet new people, connect with others outside your comfort zone, and understand that not every person you meet will have good intentions.

There are so many topics that I can delve deeper into. Still, for today, I think this is a good place as ever to stop and really reflect upon the differences between our lives. There are always possibilities to have change occur in our daily lives. But, the best way to begin is by taking that leap of faith into the unknown abyss. 

Who knows what you’ll discover in your own life story…

 

Forever in Your Debt,

Leon R.M. Auguste

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