The Masks We Wear

"He have changed!" I heard this statement frequently in my life. Perhaps also in the future. Do he really change? or it just his true self has been finally exposed ? The  biggest question for us to ponder, Are' not we all wearing mask? Some poem that I have read several years ago told me about this grim reality, "well this is the land of fake and everyone's wearing mask". In this matter, only we know the truth about ourselves, and of course also God (if we believe He, who is Omniscience-does exists). 

When we wear our masks continuously, we might ever afraid to open our mask, and let the true face of us being exposed. Or we might enjoy it, we think it is necessary for several political reason as like Hitler, who give a Christmas gift to Children, so that so, the rest of the world know that he is not as bad as we often claimed.

In general, the phrase Wearing mask embodied a negative connotation but it's actually not conclusive, as it is depend on how we understand it, especially if look from a more wider view. Some people argue masks are necessary in life for the underlaying assumption that we have no fixed self, it is indispensable. Thus, masks are not something else, that are differ from us and create a huge chasm between what is original and what is not. We are the total sum of all masks. The masks are our selves as well. Yet, the assumption above, of we have no grounded self, ignore the basics traits of people which are fundamental and inherent. If there are some traits that are more major than the other frequently manifested, and being summarized quite unequivocally by the various inner and outer community so maybe, these are good evidences to confirms that we actually have a kind of fixed and basic self. Without embodied starting point of self, it is a bit kind of odd to say that the very timid actor who play the role of a bold and confident character is somehow projecting the same self. If we asked them personally, or heard some of their interviews most of them will say, that is not me, but only a play. Why? because most people through their common sense aware about the reality of basic self. Unless they having a fracture self, a multiple personalities syndrome. 

Even a writer will agree that they are not equal to the thing they write despite of writing, is an expression of our human consciousness. Having say this, a complex philosophical writing does not totally equally mean that the writer is a complex person. This is reductionist in its very outset. Some aspect of this thought does not mean that it is all about a person. Perhaps, what happened behind the scene as Philosopher, the writer feel obligated to write confusingly, or try to be "philosophical" as Bernard Russel a famous British Philosophers says the philosophy may start simple but the end might bring confusion. In other word, they write for the sake of certain standard not to expresses their self. 

Apparently, since A.D 149, Roman Philosopher like Galen had classified human personality or self into four categories. Famously known as, Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholy and Phlegmatic. These for categories are helpful and being used up until now. Therefore, human must have a basic personality and that self, can be determined through the strongest inclination of the four basics things above. Although human owned basic self but in addition, human can at the same time wear mask to project something beyond basic self. However, wearing mask is not totally unacceptable. Human are adaptable being. Lean Baptiste Lamarck says that inside of every human being, there is a natural tendency for adaptation. So, we can say then wearing a mask is natural and can be seen as good. Philosopher like Quill had argued that to wear mask is actually not vice in some situation. It can be said as a wise act in some limited context. Of course, we would not exposes our private life and play it to public arena has been a general norm. We need a different standard and appearance in public otherwise there are no difference between private life and public life. The key is "moderation", as Lawarance Quill argued. 

Moderation entails the awareness of the boundaries. Wearing mask can be understood not only as projecting something that is more than current self or to act differently from what we believe, It can also mean that we are intentionally are trying not to fully expressed our self, we restraint it for we know, by opening self we can bring harm rather than good. In the company of course, we should wear formal clothing and act like a professional. The other example of the same kind, is not to cut the queue or to stand close while people having transaction in ATM. In the public arena we should wear mask, in the sense that we restraint our liberty for the sake of others. We cannot act freely, totally in difference from the policy and the general public appearance of the company, government and society just for the sake of showing our authenticity. That is why Jurgen Habbermas argue that private sphere and public sphere need to be maintained so both can be well functioned in society. Wearing mask in the public arena is not all negative but it can be say as good as well, a reasonable way of ordering oneself properly in line with the phrase of society, moral consensus or also religion. The most important we do not wear mask solely to manipulate. This is possibly the worst act of wearing mask we may ever did, I convince.