Tainted world

        We often look at the world through a lens of impurity. Let me explain. There is a kind of “dirtiness” around us, ranging from the colour of people’s skin to the actual dirt on the streets. What’s more, on the streets, impure things are manifested in the presence of homeless individuals wearing worn and dirty clothes, transporting their belongings in shopping trolleys and bags, and bothering people.
       Ideally, the world would be better if there were no such “surprises”, but instead well-dressed and elegant people walking down the streets, and no poverty around. In the end, an aesthetically perfect world without uncomfortable situations to disturb our eyes and minds.
     Of course, reality is not like that. The world does not work this way because it is imperfect; yet people often do not accept this truth. Moreover, there are those who are excluded from this “pure” world but still imagine belonging to it if they share this same prejudiced mindset.
      The water, for example, that comes from taps is not the same for everyone. Privileged people drink cleaner, better-treated water in their homes, while the majority have no access to it. Impurity does not choose people, but many people have no choice. Social inequality determines the quality of water, even though water is a universal good. While some people around the world take care of their rivers, others must survive on unclean water as a test of endurance.
     People often pollute water and destroy others’ environments. Consequently, over time, this “dirtiness” has been attributed to a lack of education and responsibility among people who live outside the “pure” world. But the true “dirtiness” lies in judging those who have no access to education and the concepts of “cleanliness”. They are not impure because they ignore reality, but because they are ignored by it. On the other hand, no one feels impure when excluding others from education and culture. It is fascinating, isn’t?
     No one is in a position to condemn others without reflecting on their own mistakes and faults. The result is an insecure world, full of regrets that contaminate human feelings. We often blame the world for our problems and commit “impure” acts due to our carelessness and moral irresponsibility. We are all impure, yet we attribute our mistakes to others, judging ourselves “pure people”, or we simply outsource our faults.
      We oscillate between ethics and the will to transgress it. This boundary is often crossed in the name of petty interests. Some practice this “dirtiness” while hide behind sophisticated labels, such as “expertise in the job market”, “being the champion in negotiations”, and a “license for irresponsibility”, in the name of survival in competition. These “irresponsibilities” are based on the common sense that history is shaped by reality, where “impure things” supposedly do not count for the strongest
      The human essence lies in how we deal with this “dirtiness”, and in how we define what is pure or impure based on petty interests. There are moments when certain “purities” reveal more filth than any selective ethic ever could.

Photo from: Foto de Bhautik Patel na Unsplash

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