Saints and Sinners

There is a sinner and then there is a saint. While most of us are sinners to a certain extent, in fact all of us, why are we so judgemental and moralistic about other people's behaviors? Who decides what is right and what is wrong, especially when there is just a fine line - a wavering fine line that divides them? Why are we so obsessed with labeling people - good, bad, beautiful and ugly?

There is one thing that differentiates us from other species on this planet;We have insatiable desires. Our desire to be happy, secure, better than others, better than ourselves, seek to cause an unrest in our hearts. We are constantly looking for ways to improve in the future, often comparing our lives with what it was in the past. Without our quest for change, for movement, we would still be living in the cave. All that make us unhappy, all the struggles, all the upheavals are what makes us stronger and better.

We have evolved over the years  and it would be interesting to see how our moral compass evolves with time. Few voices of dissent, the tiny voices that most people want to shut down, are the winds of change. Look at our moral canvass, feel the strokes of change, every stroke a force that tried to overcome popular views of that era. There was a time when polygamy was legal, when homosexuality, abortion and euthanasia were illegal.  We are a better society not only because of all the innovators, all the people who are not satisfied with how things are, but also because of the thinkers, who question how the society works. Those courageous yet  feeble voices that look at the present structure of society with a different perspective. People who look beyond what was decided as right by society,  the rebels, the rule breakers.

The  punks, the misfits are as essential to the society as the scientists, if not more. They push the envelope, they stretch the boundaries and redefine the society we live in. They question all that seem unnecessary, all that seem unjust. We are creatures of habits, trained to follow the rules, after all we are policed to follow them. Rule breakers are punished, and although I fully consent that the laws of the land are meant to be followed, I am also of the opinion that they need to be questioned time and again.  Voices of dissent need to be heard, and a society that is deaf or tries to silence those voices will never evolve. I may not agree with what the dissenters say - it may be against my sensibilities, but freedom of free thought, free speech are always to be valued.  We are very rigid in our judgements - often forgetting that all the qualities that we admire as virtues,are treading on the fine line and the same qualities when they cross the line can become a menace.Kindness and non-judgemental attitude served with courage to follow them through are the only virtues. Rest all are man-made. After all the boundaries were created by humans and as we evolve, the society needs to change too.