Rudyard kipling said "who can account for the fathomless folly of the public"?While there is no source of public opinion,It is thought to be spontaneously general with a collective instinct.
Long back in ancient Athens, a society known to have a democratic tradition,the people had ruled unwisely.With Athens recovering from a protracted war and experiencing some political turmoil, Socrates stood accused of introducing novel religious practices and corrupting the young. He chose trial rather than voluntary exile.As reported by Plato, Socrates was found guilty by a jury of 500 citizens and sentenced to die. Although his friends contrived for him to escape from prison, he opted to remain in chains, as he did not wish to violate a lawful process. Eventually Socrates drank the hemlock.
In the recent years,media attention soared after Greta Thunberg made her landmark UN speech in 2019,meeting with the Pope, and sparring with the president of the United States on Twitter.While her efforts and sense of initiative were undeniably impressive, especially for a teenager, the fact remains that her credentials on the subject were nonexistent, and her scowling message offered no practical solutions whatsoever.
Around the same time,another young environmentalist named Boyan Slat quietly designed a revolutionary ocean cleanup system that captures debris from the ocean.He found a solution to a serious problem however,Greta was named ‘Person of the Year’ by Time magazine in 2019.
There are so many more important things to worry about than how one is perceived by strangers as nothing much is ever accomplished by yielding to trends and fads and popular opinion.As someone said never be a slave to public opinion for its the worst of all opinions.The circumstances of the world are so variable & my next story is about the foolishness of a rigid opinion.
A Pastor entered his donkey in a race and it won.The Pastor was so pleased with the donkey that he entered it in the race again and it won again.The local paper read: PASTOR'S ASS OUT FRONT.
The Bishop was so upset with this kind of publicity that he ordered the Pastor not to enter the donkey in another race.The next day the local paper headline read: BISHOP SCRATCHES PASTOR'S ASS. This was too much for the Bishop so he ordered the Pastor to get rid of the donkey.
The Pastor decided to give it to a Nun in a nearby convent.The local paper, hearing of the news, posted the following headline the next day: NUN HAS BEST ASS IN TOWN.The Bishop fainted. He informed the Nun that she would have to get rid of the donkey so she sold it to a farm for ₹10. The next day the paper read: NUN SELLS ASS FOR ₹10 This was too much for the Bishop so he ordered the Nun to buy back the donkey and lead it to the plains where it could run wild.The next day the headlines read: NUN ANNOUNCES HER ASS IS WILD AND FREE.The Bishop was buried the next day.
The moral of the story is being concerned about public opinion can bring you much grief and misery and even shorten your life.So be yourself and enjoy life.Stop worrying about everyone else's ass and just cover your own ! You'll be happier and live longer!