Often we do certain things, hold particular beliefs and thinking patterns that may not be entirely ours. We all pick up processes and copy others, especially during our formative years when we haven’t formed opinions and still learn about many things. During those first years and our schooling we are like spounges, absorbing information, filling it in our brains, developing nuropathways faster than in any other time of our lives and usually get highly influenced by our immediate environment - parents, significant others etc. Of course each child is also exposed to thousands of hours of brainwashing by the media just by watching tv and playing video games prior to even reaching preschool age.
We are all born like an empty canvas. No ideas. No beliefs. No prejudices. No influences apart from some genetic predispositions and recognizing the voice of our mother and father and certain sounds that have been dominant in the environment prior to our birth.
Then we get ‘attacked’ by the oversaturation of messages, information, knowledge etc that makes us who we are. But do we stop there? Are we just that byproduct of our environmental influences? Where do our choice comes from? How and when do we become aloud to question? To break away from the mould? Are we forever bound to our linguistic, cultural and religious limitations and content to not grow beyond that point?
When I hear people say ‘that’s how I was brought up’, it makes me think: ‘So do I. But I moved away from that as I grew up and formed my own opinions and ideas and beliefs’. Isn’t this our duty as adults? If we didn’t break away and explored different methods, ideas, ways of thinking and believing we would still live in caves without electricity or cars or clothes etc.
I understand the importance of cultural, linguistic and spiritual heritage as it connects us with a particular group of people (usually the one we grew up in), however, I believe it is our duty as individuals and collectively as each generation matures to challenge, hold accountable and question notions that stop us from growing up. Anything that perpetuates stigma, stereotypes, discrimination, marginalization of individuals or groups of people should be put under a spotlight and examined thoroughly. This is particularly relevant to mental illness and attitudes that prevail from the past. So how do we do that?
