People prefer politeness
Over kindness.
Politeness creates boundaries,
Within the comfort zone.
Kindness is intimate,
It penetrates through the skin,
And touches the heart.
Politeness dresses nicely,
Kindness is naked.
Politeness is a mask we wear,
Kindness, the face beneath.
One shields, the other shares,
Our true humanity.
People prefer the shallow,
Over the deep and true.
Skimming life’s surface,
Afraid to dive into the blue.
People prefer entertainment,
Over reality, journey, friendship,
Exploration and discoveries.
It is harder to consume
The fabricated,
Than it is to feel
Life.
Reality demands presence,
Entertainment is a mere distraction.
Only one shapes our essence.
In the quiet of authenticity,
We find our loudest truths.
Yet we cling to noise,
Evading the wisdom of our youth.
People’s preference is
A paradox.
The Veiled Heart of Humanity
Isn’t it intriguing how we often choose the comfortable over the meaningful? This piece beautifully captures the tension between surface-level interactions and deeper, more authentic connections.
In “Escape from Freedom,” Fromm writes, “Modern man lives under the illusion that he knows what he wants, while he actually wants what he is supposed to want.” This sentiment is reflected in the poem’s lines “People prefer politeness / Over kindness,” highlighting the societal tendency to choose superficial comfort over deeper, more challenging forms of connection.
The contrast between politeness and kindness reminds me of what the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas said about the ethical encounter with the Other: “The face of the Other at each moment destroys and overflows the plastic image it leaves me.” True kindness, like Levinas’s concept of facing the Other, requires us to move beyond social niceties and truly engage with another’s humanity.
This contrast between politeness and kindness also aligns with Fromm’s distinction between pseudo-relationships and genuine love. As Fromm states in “The Art of Loving,” “Immature love says: ‘I love you because I need you.’ Mature love says ‘I need you because I love you.’” This aligns with the poem’s portrayal of kindness as something that “penetrates through the skin, / And touches the heart,” suggesting a deeper, more authentic form of human interaction.
The idea of politeness as a mask echoes what Carl Jung meant when he spoke about personas: “The persona is that which in reality one is not, but which oneself as well as others think one is.” Our polite masks often hide our true selves, while kindness reveals them.
When the poem speaks of people preferring the shallow over the deep, it brings to mind Søren Kierkegaard’s criticism of the crowd mentality: “The crowd is untruth.” Kierkegaard believed that true existence required a leap into the depths of authentic living, rather than skimming the surface of societal expectations.
The preference for entertainment over reality resonates with Neil Postman’s warning in “Amusing Ourselves to Death”: “When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments… then a nation finds itself at risk.” Our avoidance of reality through distraction can have profound consequences.
Furthermore, the poem’s exploration of society’s preference for entertainment over reality resonates with Fromm’s critique of modern society’s alienation from authentic experiences. In “The Sane Society,” Fromm argues, “The danger of the past was that men became slaves. The danger of the future is that men may become robots.” This aligns with the poem’s observation that “People prefer entertainment, / Over reality, journey, friendship, / Exploration and discoveries.”
As Martin Heidegger put it, “If I take death into my life, acknowledge it, and face it squarely, I will free myself from the anxiety of death and the pettiness of life – and only then will I be free to become myself.” Reality, though challenging, shapes us in ways that mere entertainment cannot.
So what does all this mean? Perhaps it’s about recognizing the value of authentic interactions and experiences, even when they’re uncomfortable. It’s about understanding that growth often lies beyond our comfort zones.
Remember, every time you choose kindness over mere politeness, or reality over distraction, you’re taking a step towards a more authentic life. As Maya Angelou said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
So next time you’re faced with the choice between the comfortable and the meaningful, consider: How might choosing the deeper path enrich your life and relationships? Because in the end, isn’t that what makes life truly fulfilling? This ability to move beyond surface-level interactions, to engage with life and others in a genuine way. Your authentic self is waiting to be expressed. How will you let it shine today?