What's Untold?

Dissent and sexual consent have recently gained a large amount of traction in the past couple of years. These concepts have been around since the beginning of time, but nowadays people are becoming more open in discussing them. This can be partly attributed to the breakdown of initial discomfort faced by many when put up against complicated situations.

Contesting for progress has always laid in the foundation of unhindered communication. Talking about difficult things help. But, several equally important aspects are nevertheless left behind in the dark. Unfortunately, these ideas are not so widespread yet. Men, women and non-binary people are still forced to be thrust into a definitive bracket on the basis of one's power of "right" over them. What's misconstrued to be "looseness" can also be independence. What's untold is truly how much a person has absolute control over their decisions for self-betterment.

Let's come to dissent. I was reading an article the other day; about how universities maintain their policy to promote skepticism among students towards everything they learn. This format of applied knowledge can be traced back to the heliocentric model first introduced by Copernicus in opposition to the Roman Catholic Church's doctrine. Dissent is exponentially becoming a common term now, in view of my country's Constitution not being upheld optimally. But, we are forced to blend ourselves in the slew of unheard issues. Therefore, something which is our prerogative as citizens are being curtailed by the government - and also by ourselves.

How many times have we consciously told oursleves: "No, I don't want to be the odd one out." Group mentality is a key reason. For example, so many individuals are afraid to express their true gender pronouns because the people around them urge for selecting the binary code instead. Your rejection of your own self may not seem a very big deal to you initially. What's untold is that sometimes, we can't be ourselves. Sometimes, we end up losing our essence and blend in - subjected to religious norms, mass culture, societal customs and expectations.

Dissent is freedom. It's a freedom which is more tough to achieve, but it is so valuable for us. Althoughthey tend to be a bit too glamourised, both dissent and consent end up being two faces of the same coin. Awareness isn't really enough anymore. What's more effective is enabling free conversation about the pros and cons of a concept. If talking is tough, then leaning on others for the smallest of support can truly help us to grow so much. Self-reliance doesn't mean isolating yourself from the so-called vulnerability of asking for help.

What's left behind in the dark can be brought to see the beautiful light of day. It's everybody's consent or dissent.

For me, what's untold is essentially how transparent common sense will always be the saviour of mankind.

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