The Lies We Live
Ishaan Sengupta
TY BSc Economics
Reading Time- 5 mins
Who are you…really?
As soon as you were born you were gifted an identity. A name, a nationality, a religion, a race…you get the point. You were most likely not consulted for any of these choices, yet, they define the core of who you are. Or at least, who you think you are. It’s a strange contradiction, isn’t it?
As a species, we’ve spent our entire lives defending these hollow labels handed to us at birth, as if they define our very essence. Is this really individuality? Or are we just actors on a stage, performing roles we didn’t even care to audition for?
We like to believe that we are unique, and that our individuality is what sets us apart in a world of billions. But how much of our identity is truly us? The truth is, individuality is a carefully manipulated illusion, a fabrication if you will. Who we are has already been decided for us
Identity Breeds Fragility
Alright, so we’ve inherited a set of labels at birth…so what’s the big deal?
When we defend our identity, these labels, what are we really protecting? We didn’t choose them, and yet we cling to them as if our lives depend on them.
“India is better than Pakistan! Hinduism is superior!”
If you cared to peek between the cracks, you’d see a sense of deep fragility unravelling. When someone questions our race, our religion, or our nationality, it’s a personal attack. Why? It’s because our sense of self is built on external constructs, and we’ve been conditioned to defend it come what may.
Think about it for a second. Countless wars have been fought, lives lost, all in the name of guarding something as arbitrary as borders or beliefs. We’re willing to take other lives or give up our own for identities that we didn’t even get a say in. Fragility is but the natural outcome of such a clever setup. We’re sheltering something that’s not even ours, and deep down, we’re acutely aware of it.
The Illusion of Choice
“But I’m more than all that! I make my own choices every day and those are what define me!”
Well…what about the aspects of our identity that we do choose? We’ve constructed certain parts of ourselves obviously – our tastes in music, our favourite meals, our career paths…right?
Sure, you decide how you play your cards, but do keep in mind you’ve already been dealt the deck you’re playing with. Even these decisions are shaped by the world we’re born into. We’re handed a set of options, and we’re free to choose from within that framework. But is it really a choice if the options are limited?
You might feel free because you chose to follow a certain path…but then, what is freedom? Are these expressions of your individuality, or are they the product of social conditioning, economic circumstances, and cultural expectations?
Turns out, the illusion of choice is a pretty powerful sedative.
Individuality Is a Fallacy
It’s comforting to think that we are unique beings, shaped by our internal choices – but it’s also largely untrue. Much of what we consider “ourselves” is moulded by external factors: maybe it’s the family we’re born into, the culture we absorb, or even the media we consume. Even our personality traits are often just reflections of the world around us.
Our individuality is perhaps more performance than reality. We wear our assigned labels like costumes, mistaking them for the core of our being. But deep down, are we really being ourselves, or are we just pretending?
Who Are We When We Aren’t Pretending?
If you were to strip away your race, your nationality, your religion, your language – what would remain? If you stopped performing the role that was handed to you, what would be left of you?
“If I were touched by the wind,
Will I be taken away?”
This is where it gets uncomfortable. We don’t know who we are without these identities. We’ve adopted these labels to be parts of ourselves. We’re scared to pull the covers off and see what lies underneath.
What if it really is empty underneath?
These labels give us a sense of comfort and belonging. What would happen if we stopped defining ourselves by these borders that someone else drew for us?
Maybe, the real challenge is daring to exist without them. It’s easy to hide behind a flag, a race, or a religion.
If we could step beyond these fragile constructs, perhaps we’d discover a truer version of ourselves, one that isn’t dictated by society, but by our own, unfiltered humanity.
Maybe, the real challenge isn’t in how we react to our identities being threatened, but in questioning whether those identities were truly ever ours to begin with.