We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented

(Disclaimer: I am NOT justifying any action or behavior. I am just speculating why people usually act so)

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“We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented” – The Truman Show (a 1998 movie starring Jim Carrey)

The above line explains a great deal about why we hold on to some beliefs as gospel truths, and form our judgment about things and act in a specific pattern.

This movie (which I feel is still quite under-rated!) had Jim Carrey, a person whose entire life had been a live, non-stop, unedited television show. He lived in a world which was completely artificial; everything, everyone knew that everything were fake. But the person was real. His emotions were real. He was conditioned to a certain realities of world, and believed in it. The makers of the show did not want to show him what the ‘actual’ world was. He was made not to want to explore the outside world, made to fear things that could have led him to explore outside world. Yet he believed it, because it was the only reality he was presented with. (How he later moves to outside world is another story!). Though parallels between the movie and the real world were probably not direct, yet they were quite remarkable. The one line mentioned above can explain a great deal about why people act or behave in a particular way.

For example, we all condemn the act of terrorism and acts of extremism, especially activities of likes of al Qaida. Often the question is raised that why they do such acts and no religion would ever support such activities. However, the reality of the world according to us and according to them is completely different. They are usually trained for these purposes and taught that what they are doing is right. People who usually carry out such activities usually have no skills except reciting The Quran, which they cannot usually comprehend as it is written in Arabic, and they are usually trained in local dialect, making these people vulnerable to the manipulators in power. They believe that this is the right path and are brainwashed and conditioned to this ‘reality’. They accept this, as it is the only ‘reality’ to which they are exposed to. So what they do, we might consider it incorrect, but for them it might be the ultimate truth. (Some insights were from ‘The Afgan” – Frederick Forsyth)

Taking other example, we more often than not find many people holding on to the set of beliefs that we don’t and find it odd. We may find some person of older generation too obsessed with religion, caste, customs, xenophobia and he/she might be condemning the current generation for lack of belief, or consider them to be heretics. They might have their opinions about things like eating habits, talking to others, moral code of conduct, female education etc. The current generation may not subscribe to this. But, we should consider the fact that it is what they were conditioned to. Today’s world might find atheism or cynicism in age old traditions as correct, but the ones of older generation might not. This was the only ‘truth’ they were exposed to, and this is what they adhere to.

Most of the things we know or the opinions we form (including this one!) are what we have been taught or are exposed to in some form or other. We think it to be accurate (usually!) because it is the only one to which we are exposed to. But we may not know what the truth actually is, because what we know is the reality of the world which is presented to us.

Though we have a right to criticize things; but before we make a judgment about anyone we should put ourselves in their shoes and then form an opinion after answering the question “why?”