Solidarity
By: Aditya Prabu
Tags: Unity, BlackLivesMatter, Blue Insights, Feelings, Solidarity

Ever heard that working towards a goal as a team can be a greater achievement than pursuing the same goal by yourself ? Ever wondered why you always get to see ants in groups and no ant left behind ? Or do you wonder why the famous movement in Poland led by Lech Walesa against the communists was called solidarity.

According to the oxford dictionary , solidarity is defined as the support offered by a group of people because they share common opinions and aims.

“There is no stability without solidarity and no solidarity without stability” — Jose Manuel Barroso.

What I interpret from this is solidarity is unity and unity is power. Without a feeling of oneness among people , no society will live in peace and no society will prosper. On the other hand , solidarity or a feeling of empathy among members of society can only exist if there is a common goal or a common standard that the society aims at achieving which provides stability and hence enhances a feeling of solidarity. This is supported by the oxford dictionary definition of solidarity. Especially the excerpt, “Common Opinions And Words”.

There have been multiple incidences of solidarity throughout the past century and even the past decade. The most significant arising quite recently in the form of a worldwide movement known as “Black Lives Matter”.

The “Black Lives Matter” Uprising

The Black lives matter uprising was a recent occurrence following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota . This event led to massive uprisings all over the world demanding justice for the 46 year old. Since then , the black lives matter movement has picked up pace and has been acknowledged in almost all other realms of life such as sports. Even in the current sporting events , we find athletes taking a moment’s silence and kneeling down in this regard. This supports the previous statement of unity leading to power as this will transform the way people look at society. Society will begin to include and acknowledge these people.

“You don’t fight racism with racism , you fight racism with solidarity” — Bobby Seale

Solidarity And Psychology

“Out of the fires of desperation , burn hope and solidarity” — Sharan Burrow

We all must have heard of the phrase , a friend in need is a friend indeed. Have you ever thought why ?

We put our minds through so many thoughts in a day. Out of all these thoughts , I can positively conclude that around 80 percent of these thoughts are unnecessary. Unnecessary thoughts are like cyanide to the mind. They block your thoughts, waste your time and squeeze the happiness out of your mind.

They replace this happiness , with the dreaded drug , stress. Stress can initially begin as mental stress or stress to the mind. But as time progresses , stress becomes physical. You start showing erratic behavior, You try to injure yourself, You’d rather be alone , than with someone you care about. All these physical changes are associated with excessive stress.

Now where does a friend come into context ?

A friend or a being of solidarity , is someone who will always stand with you and stand by you. He is someone who will stay with you till the very end , until every ounce of stress on that poor mind disappears for eternity.

This is a type of social solidarity. Through the thick and thin , someone who exhibits such solidarity is a friend.

In case , you are stressed due to a poor performance in an exam , a friend is the one that is going to distract your mind.

In case you are in a tough spot of bother regarding something that happened during the day , again , you turn to your friend.

In any case , the answer always remains the same

A friend…..

A friend…

And A friend….

Solidarity in terms of psychology is someone who will stand with you and support you in times where you cannot support yourself mentally. A person who acts as a pillar of support through whatever you do.

The Misuse of “Acts Of Solidarity”

As exists many things in life , even such a positive and unifying word has its own downsides. Solidarity has been misused in many ways. Creating unity for the wrong causes is a major reason for why this word is losing its true meaning.

Solidarity led to uprisings against violence , but in the present world , we see solidarity leading to violence.

Solidarity is meant to unify people , today , solidarity is more effective in dividing people than unifying them.

Solidarity is meant to create peace , but as we can see , it now creates a sense of hatred among people

The list can go on and on , but people always fail to change. We always promise ourselves with a sense of solidarity to create change , but sadly , this sudden feeling of solidarity lasts only an instance after the occurence of a particular incident , after a couple of months , all is forgotten.

If we really want to bring value back to the word solidarity , the only way to do it is through solidarity. So let’s show the rest of the world , the actual meaning of solidarity and bring back the respect it once had.

@Blue Insights