Social Hierarchy

We have spoken on the problem of social status bringing division and discrimination among society, but there is another related issue that brings an even more division among the people. The problem of social hierarchy separate people not only by the size of their income but based on their religion, creed, caste and which institutions they belong to. Is it fair for us to say that those who belong to government institutions are lower than those belonging to the private institutions? Is it fair to say that all those living WITHIN Colombo are of much higher standard than those living out of Colombo? Is it fair to say that Africans are such poor and impoverished creatures who were a mistake to be created in the first place while the White people are Gods’ greatest gift on Earth? It is not our place to judge others based on such minute details! What we do is we create division and reason to fight.

Personally, I am sick of all this useless, demeaning acts of self-glorification. A person is not entitled to state themselves as the ‘higher person’ in a society. Out of personal experience I can say that when ever people say, ‘OMG! That person is like from this school and they are like so…ew!’ I feel like giving a slap and saying, ’excuse me, just because you belong in this school doesn’t make you so much better!’ Yes, I suppose they are a bit less fortunate than those belonging to private institutions and international institutions, but that don’t mean they should be shunned by society as a whole. People are HUMANS BEINGS. Human beings as a whole have rights entitled to them, and the rights don’t say that if you belong to a certain class or caste that you cannot pursue a certain right entitled to you! How unfair is that?

In a sense the reason that social hierarchy exists is the faults of the human beings it self. If people hadn’t put into the mind of others that they are higher than some then the system of social hierarchy would not exist. Sometimes the behaviour of the people who economically live in the middle or lower class behaves in a manner that requires people of greater mannerisms and higher education to look down upon them. We may argue the point that social hierarchy is a system that should be shunned and we should all live as equals but it depends on the people. What divides us is what we bring down upon ourselves and not what has been pre-ordained. It is not in our place to scold the Gods and the Heavens saying it is the fault of the spiritual world for creating a system such as this.

Social Status might never be diminished. There will always be the system of high income earners, middle income earners and lower income earners. However the system of social hierarchy should be and can be demolished. People should realize that everyone is equal. We all have 2 eyes, a nose, a mouth, 2 ears, a pair of hands and legs don’t we? (Nobody better bring up the topic of the differently-able here because that is beyond the point) The point is we may differ in colour, education, standard of living and all that; but we are all people. We are, so far, the most intelligent beings in the universe. Is this the way we should behave? If anything the world will end not only by the forces of nature working against us, but by our own divisions. A moment I’ll never forget is the time I went abroad and when I was riding an elevator with my family, all the locals of that country moved away from us as if we were carrying a fatal disease. The reason for this prejudice? Our colour. I will never forget how hurt and angry I felt that day.

Understand that we are not entitled to discriminate against other. We are not entitled to call people names, scold people in filth and avoid even looking at a person just because of a few personal traits or dissimilarities. If we take a stand today for a better tomorrow then maybe wars will end, peace will be incurred and we can come together to fight even worse issues facing our generation. Isn’t that a good enough reason for us to take measures to see that this system of hierarchy is stopped???