Perils of Perception

Every person has their own perception of life or how they choose to live it, understand it, and portray it. Interpretations of situations vary from person to person. And, of course, that makes all the difference....how people perceive you, judge you and pass judgement. No one gives a thought to what it would be like to be in the other person's shoes. I have always felt ,''your freedom ends where my nose begins''.......
The society that we live in today has different parameters of respecting other peoples' right to privacy. Nobody judges, measures or gauges public reaction or the long term repurcussions of public airing of opinions and thoughts. If you don't enjoy freedom with responsibility, it is very likely that the right would be curbed. And that is detrimental to any kind of freedom of expression. To enjoy the fruits of freedom one has to also bear the load of responsibility. It is something we owe to others who want to maintain a demarcation between private and public life.
The press also does not respect this demarcation. They violate all norms of decency when covering news, justifying the same by saying they want to give people the real picture. I don't subscribe to this at all. An individual is free to decide what he/she wants to reveal and what should be concealed, not because they are hiding something, but because what is being portrayed by the media is its own perception of the situation. Needless to say perception varies from person to person. What the media thinks is the truth ,on the basis of what is made public ,might be as far from the truth as the mountain from Mohamed.