The Village

In our pursuit for an utopia, does it mean that we must have absolute control in our environment and people? There must be rules to determine what is socially acceptable, what is right and what is wrong. The boundaries of our lives are pretty much set in that sense. We were often taught about how important it is to behave in an acceptable manner in our well defined limitations. Exploring beyond that limitation will hence require great strength and courage. Should we try to embark into a foreign territory, to enter unexplored grounds, we are often consumed by our own fears .... and to some of us, the fear can be so great that it can cripple us and stop us from pursuing the unknown. To some of us, we may try to overcome our fears by placing our faith and beliefs in some things that may only have a placebo effect. Fear is however a two edged sword. When we fear that we will lose the very thing that matters to us, fear then becomes the force that drives us to go beyond our comfort zone into the unknown.

Yet having said that, there will always be someone amongst us who is a non-conformist and does not see the boundaries in his life. He does things as he desires , he displays no inhibitions in his manners and his dealings with people around him. He is not governed by rules and has no fear in exploring beyond the limitations and his desires. He is often deemed by others to be beyond control and crazy, punishment is often used to manage his undesirable behaviours. The existence of this person or persons could threaten the existence of this utopia.

In our schools, are we encouraging curiosity and passion or are we instilling fear? How often we were challenged by pupils who have no regards for rules and regulations, who are good natured people but do not understand why we must abide those rules. In meting the punishment to reform undesired behaviours, are we conditioning them to what we believe to be "social norms"? Are we better than them? Are we imposing our "conditioned" thoughts and beliefs to the pure and curious minds and in the process setting limitations to their lives?