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Remember the good old days when compassion, empathy, kindness, understanding was the jewel of humanity? Probably not.
Now, problems, stress and tension impair our actions, feelings, and attitudes – turning the coveted human niceties into rare attributes.
In a twisted way, humanity for many has been reduced to non-violent ways to suppress and oppress those whose looks, actions, words or opinions do not sit well with one’s predetermined right or wrong.
Social Media, a source of Anxiety
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Take for example social media. Now, more than ever, it is no longer just a platform to poke friends, post fun and carefree pictures, share what is on your mind – it is a source of anxiety, toxicity, and mental stress.
There is little or no room to freely express ideologies, views and alternate opinion without opening the flood gate of backlash, cancellation and bullying; particularly by those seeking influence.
Even in real life, people are tired of the good fight.
Personal, political and philosophical differences, struggles, misunderstandings, and mistakes, now have a much higher probability to end up with negative feedback, reaction, or outcomes – an indicator that what made humanity special, is gradually eroding.
Truth of the matter is, we are guilty of allowing the negative complexities of life to turn us into pawns; complacent to lack of impartial reasoning and complacent to the courage to denounce toxicity.
Despite this, Life is What we Make it
There is a lot of good in it, but we must make sure that other voices, experiences, and realities can be expressed and heard, without always feeling personally attacked or offended.
Many are fighting for rights, freedom and equality, without realizing the most powerful fight of our lives is to free our minds from insolent behavior and tyranny we have created on social media, within our circles and in our lives.
Without doubt, witty responses and the number of likes, followers or retweets will never justify inhumane behavior.
Though I cannot expect everyone to have sensible reaction, I hope we can have the courage to start a conversation about what it takes to be part of something meaningful, purposeful, and bigger – the human race.
I hope more people can begin calling out the façade of viewing things without perspective and context.
Above all, though it seems a mirage now, I hope we can constantly pursue peace, love, and unity because our only limitation is the doubt of today.
So, here is to humanity and wishing for more.
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The foregoing is an Opinion Article submitted to Pulse Live Kenya for publication as part of the Pulse Contributors initiative.
Pulse Contributors is an initiative to highlight diverse journalistic voices. Pulse Contributors do not represent the company Pulse and contribute on their own behalf.
Should you wish to submit an Article to Pulse, do so via contributors@pulse.co.ke.
The Author, Linda Okero, is a communications and development enthusiast who has been enhancing socio-economic transformation in Micro-Finance, Government, Business Acceleration and Advocacy space. She is the Coordinator of the UNCTAD Youth Action Hub – Kenya, a YALI Alumni and Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society.