Parochialism vs Permissiveness

I believe the world is at a crossroads. It's either news about the Black Lives Matter protests in the United States is playing in the background or the protests in Belarus are the new story. Back home in Nigeria, insecurity is within - it's in the family, in the yard and the very community where you are supposed to seek refuge. Don't even bring the workplace into the equation. That one has become a cult of sorts. Issues that should be on the table are now discussed in sports clubs, bedrooms and bathrooms. Haba, my people. What has happened to us? I think the world is going where nobody is able to control the outcome of her life. I'd call this trend insecurity. Our inability to plan ahead or give sound advice based on science or reason ought to be worrisome. We shouldn't let the wind blow our hopes and aspirations wherever the whims and caprices of the powers that be dictate. It is against this backdrop that I've chosen to write on the twin paradoxes of permissiveness and parochialism. These two do not look alike in meaning, yet they are both factors that affect our very existence in this world and as such assume an opposition in function. Parochialism is described, on one hand, as a limited or narrow minded outlook to life, especially limited to a local area. This suggests a tendency to limit oneself to a linear outlook or a local culture. Most parochial attitudes are primitive, sensitive and do not look for change. In fact, change is discouraged because guidelines, rules and laws are generally accepted as the viable logic for that particular society. Permissiveness on the other hand suggests the allowance of great freedom. I view this trait as the other side of the coin where parochialism is located because the latter doesn't suggest great freedom to act in one's own way. Permissive societies allow people to do shocking things that other people disapprove of. While these two behaviour nodes viz parochialism and permissiveness may exist in the same society, hardly do they exist in the same person. Only few people have been able to strike a balance between staying local while viewing the world through lenses that allow them and/or others great freedoms. To be continued....