I find it fascinating where in the modern world all of us seem to be in this constant endeavour to sell their point of view/ their locii standii if i might use that word.
Let me explain....these days you find folks trying to "sell" your their apartment complex, their favorite restaurant, the line of clothing that fits them best, the school their kids go to, their place of work, their teams at workplace, their love for sushi...you get the drift....almost as if, they had a personal stake in that franchise (which I am assuming you don't).
...and in contrast, this kind of zealot behavior was earlier restricted to topics like "religion" and theology...topics essentially personal and yet those which can lend themselves easily to evangelizing.
Today....
For example, I keep talking to folks from my old world in Bombay...and they still keep trying to remind me - what I am "missing". For the record, I think know what I am missing, but what they completely miss, now I also know what they are missing.
I am hopefully not trying to sell though, at least I really don't want to do that...hope I am not coming across that way....but when I am asked what is great about bangalore - I do say, "large houses", expat population and of course some of the best schools the country has to offer.
The rest of bangalore is not even remotely comparable to Bombay....and yet I choose to stay here, because I see what I can make of the positives of city.
Enough said....
So why is everyone selling? Well, I am not a culture/ behavior expert....but I strongly suspect this has to do with the following
1) lack of a strong central theme - this used to be religion and extended family in the past.
2) our own diminished sense of individualism - we now no longer see our choices reflected in the greater society around us. So though everyone now slightly appears different from "the other", you do now run with the gaping black hole of a missing collective.
3) our own unidimensional personalities - our inability to see beyond the 4 walls of our home, our immediate family and our cubicle....ensures that we are now definitely in that "personal insecure" zone.
Where do I see this heading? Don't know. As a I said before I am not a behaviorial scientist...all I do is key punching at work...
But I do know that due to this new "sales" culture - we are also encouraging a culture where a "failed sale" also invariably means a "failed relationship".
Your friends are just as good as the last thing you bought, and the rules of this marketplace are bloody still evolving...for now, you may lose your own kin in pursuit of the fabled sale.
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2 comments:
people sell because they are weak and need the reassurance of others agreeing with them.
My sneaking suspicion as well :-)
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