Needless Defense

By Nitya Kumar

If I could list down all the debates, arguments, riots, ideological differences, discrimination, and prejudice I have witnessed so far in my life, there is one underlying tendency that would shine through all the poison we consume.

“The urge to defend categorizations we were born into, the boundaries we didn’t draw, the roles we didn’t choose.”

Be it your religion, gender, sexual orientation, country, or last name that loosely translates into your caste/sect in an Indian context. How is any of these anything more than random allotment?

We have lost enough human intellect and lives in the quest to establish one categorization superior to another, whether it’s a communal riot or a debate around gender roles. I cannot justify through words how confused I have been at these needless defenses.

Who told us it’s our job to be protective of identifications imposed on us? Who told us that the human experience is so shallow that it can be confiscated by comparisons?

Let me try to mold my disconcert into some conclusive statements.

You don’t choose the religion followed by the family you were born into but undermining any other faith is a choice.

You don’t choose to be born into the male gender but being a misogynist is a choice.

And you definitely don’t choose to be heterosexual but raising eyebrows on any other sexual orientation is a choice.

If only we need something to defend, let that be at least a conscious choice because choices are often preceded by a logical thought process. Conclusively, if our choices were guided by nothing other than human compassion, kindness, and love, we all will always make the right choice, without fail.

By Nitya Kumar