Prison Break

There is something about the prisons. It makes us feel insecure and secure at the same time. Ever walked by the vicinity of a prison or passed by? You will have that wobbly feeling inside you just by the sight of it. You will feel that tingle in your nerves and you feel that groundless perspiration. Why is that? We aren't criminals. We haven't done anything to be inside of that ghastly place. A prison is a place for the criminals. People who have harmed others. People who are the enemies of the state and society. People who tend to cause a danger to our lives and a disturbance to the social order. It makes us feel safe to know that government have pinned them down. We feel the world a much safer place for our liking with them - a threat to the humanity who are capable of inexcusable crimes or providing accessory to those, confined within those huge walls. Coming back to the question, why do we feel that insecurity around the prison though it is made to ensure our security? We aren't criminals or haven't done any crimes. Maybe it is that presumption of a potential prison break by those heinous creatures. Maybe both. Maybe, it could be attributed to our human nature which, in a way, could connect us to those inside.

That's insane! That notion is dreadfully wrong. But is it? Aren't we living in a virtual prison? Oh! In a figurative way. Well, still we aren't criminals. We haven't harmed anybody's life or did any crime. Are you sure?

We are the prisoners of the life from the moment of our birth. From the moment we set foot on this free world we are imprisoned by the judgements, expectations, to be able to fit in the status quo. Our own family and the society here acts as the tyrannizing government. But they do it in such a sweet way that we will never realize it. So we are the victims. We aren't the criminals. Victimisation is a well crafted term to keep away our frailties. But the victims in us turn ourselves into criminals as we grow up and impose the same path to others. Our children. Instead of letting them to explore themselves we teach them to look upon the next kid. To model themselves after them. Why? Is it because they are any less than the other kid? No. We need them to fit to the status quo. If the other kid can sing then why can't the one in our home? We are always good to spot the talent of other kids but little as we can or patient enough to let our own, to find their own way. Now, that is our vanity.

We talk at length about how the morality of this generation is corrupted. How they are after easy success and easy money. But who is to blame? What lessons are we teaching them when we ask them to match the talent of other kids irrespective of what they own? What lessons are we teaching them when we ask them to pursue a safer career where they can have a car, a bungalow, a wealthy bank account and finally, settle to have a "normal job" and family. But, hey! What's wrong in it? Every parent would want their kids to be happy. But, what if their happiness was not about owning a car or a huge mansion? What if their happiness was in chasing their dreams their true passion? Depriving them of that chance is the first vanity. Is there a second one? Yes. Just like we urge them to model themselves as the successful kid next door, sometimes, we make them chase our failures. A man who wanted to be actor would pass that incapability of his or that unfortunate burden to his kid. A wanted to be singer would pass that burden of "to be a successful singer" to his kid. Isn't that quite natural? Yes, it is quite natural to wish that. It becomes a crime, only when we insist upon it. We want our kids to be what we could not become, and if they cant, we deliberately or carelessly inject a sense of disappointment and failure in them which could not only harm their own future and talent but also of the coming generation. We shove them down to live with that sorry feeling about themselves for not being able to match or fulfil their parent's dreams. How do they bail themselves out of it? By promising a compromise on their kids future. Barring a rare faction, we are just the iteration of the dreams of our past, criminally imprisoned by the false expectations of the family and society.

Sometimes even people who aren't criminals get imprisoned. Many greats like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther king Jr., etc. had to encounter that. They were frowned upon and was sent to the prison because they challenged the status quo. They made the hierarchy fear about breaking the waves. They were put through the tests of patience, survival and frowned upon when they stood their ground. They belonged to that rare faction. We, as a society, have always feared change. We frown upon the people who choose to swim against the tide and find their own ground. We label them as stupid, insane and as an outlaw.

Just like we feel that insecurity about the prison and a potential prison break we feel that insecurity around them. Maybe, we are afraid of getting exposed. Maybe, we are afraid of a potential "prison break" by those who are a "threat" to our society. They could break the conventional law and harm our bubble lives. How could we ever allow that?

So, as it turns out, we are all criminals doing time in our own individual and collective prisons. So, why don't we aim to be that criminal who belong to that rare faction? Why don't we try to break away from this confinement and follow the real freedom by following our own dreams instead of chasing others dreams? 

 

Afterall, if we are afraid of being different to others, we are just gonna end up as the same as others. Lets change that. Let's be a part of the rare faction and turn it into a majority. Let's make that "heinous crime". Let's break free.
Let's do a prison break.