Lenin once said, "A lie told often enough becomes truth." Quite a bold statement I think, and although it was specifically pertaining to the Soviet Union at the time, the quote goes beyond that to all societies. When the government lies it is horrible, but when society is not honest with itself, all hell breaks loose. In my mind, society, and especially the high school society, is never honest. People are hardly honest with themselves and with other people. In school, people are always changing their personality it seems to fit in or be liked by a certain person. However, perhaps changing one's own character at certain moments is the only way society can function. If everyone in high school was honest with each other, there would be lots of fights and fiery arguments. The tension in the air would be so thick you could cut it with a knife (which is more than can be said for the food in the cafeteria). If kids our age say it how it is to every other person, only chaos would erupt, proving the third law of thermodynamics of increasing disorder to be true.
However wrong it is, lies are needed in our society. For example, let's say you ask someone else for an opinion on your essay that you've been writing for the past two months. If the person responds with only harsh and negative criticism, there will be some unruly feelings between you and the person you asked. Even if the paper was totally trash, the person would have to respond with "It's good," if anything, or else the writer could be crushed.
There are many lies in society about how things are. We, as high schoolers, have taken ideas and said that this is the way it is. I hate to sound cheesy with the words from the rather insipid "High School Musical," but many kids my age "stick to the status quo" (even using those words makes me feel uneasy). For example, in choir if your voice is strikingly different from everyone else's (or if it's not the same as others in your section), people may not like to listen to it as much, although it may have just as great features. This goes along with anything; if your style is different from others it may not be as accepted as those who have styles that are the norm. People like the norm because if you are "normal" it makes you feel good, and that is if you are like everyone else.
Although Lenin may have only been speaking to his government leaders, his idea reaches to nations everywhere. The norm is a very sketchy word, and it can be interpreted as many different ideas. However, if the norm is not honest, then people are not allowed to be honest. There should be no "norm," for it defines society as a stone with no leniency in actions or feelings. The norm is a lie told by everyone, and unfortunately it has become truth.
However wrong it is, lies are needed in our society. For example, let's say you ask someone else for an opinion on your essay that you've been writing for the past two months. If the person responds with only harsh and negative criticism, there will be some unruly feelings between you and the person you asked. Even if the paper was totally trash, the person would have to respond with "It's good," if anything, or else the writer could be crushed.
There are many lies in society about how things are. We, as high schoolers, have taken ideas and said that this is the way it is. I hate to sound cheesy with the words from the rather insipid "High School Musical," but many kids my age "stick to the status quo" (even using those words makes me feel uneasy). For example, in choir if your voice is strikingly different from everyone else's (or if it's not the same as others in your section), people may not like to listen to it as much, although it may have just as great features. This goes along with anything; if your style is different from others it may not be as accepted as those who have styles that are the norm. People like the norm because if you are "normal" it makes you feel good, and that is if you are like everyone else.
Although Lenin may have only been speaking to his government leaders, his idea reaches to nations everywhere. The norm is a very sketchy word, and it can be interpreted as many different ideas. However, if the norm is not honest, then people are not allowed to be honest. There should be no "norm," for it defines society as a stone with no leniency in actions or feelings. The norm is a lie told by everyone, and unfortunately it has become truth.
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