Authentic Orange

Submitted by Nivita Sriram

     Humans can never be sure if they are truly authentic or not. What we can do at the least is to find ourselves even if we’re unable to reveal our true self to the world. Authenticity means being truthful and honest at all times regardless one’s environment and people surrounding them. In this day and age, it’s very hard to find people that are truly authentic. To authentically “Be Orange” at Oregon State University means to be a true Beaver. It is difficult who is actually a true Beaver that religiously follows all games and activities on campus, or one that hops on the bandwagon to be a part of school spirit- which probably includes most of us here at OSU. In this society, it is difficult to find who is authentically “Orange” and who isn’t due to various societal pressures and expectations we have set for one another.

 Many factors can contribute to preventing someone from becoming authentic, or truly an individual. This is also seen through Nietzshe’s beliefs- “But throughout the longest era of humanity, there was nothing more frightful than being single. Being alone, perceiving as a single person, neither ruling, nor constituting an individual-that was no pleasure, but a punishment” (Nietzshe, The Gay Science, p. 117). As Nietzsche explains, throughout humanity it’s been a common theme that individuality and authenticity is bad. To truly be authentic, however, one must reject this belief and be a singular person and believe that their individuality is more important and valuable than following the “herd”- a term used by Nietzsche to describe how people generally follow others around them. The “Herd” can often lead individuals to act in unauthentic ways, or to be less authentic themselves (lecture, 5/5/15).Ways to express ourselves and be authentic can be done in many different ways- one way in particular is appearance. As demonstrated by the extra credit exercise done in class, many people came to class in their “authentic” selves. If people dressed like their real selves all the time, authenticity would be the “norm” of society. However, we are forced to follow societal norms and behaviors to fit in- which we may not all agree with or abide to. Girls who don’t wear makeup could be seen as authentic, and guys who don’t shave their faces could be seen as authentic as well. Authenticity doesn’t have one definition, to some people being “all natural” could be authentic, but to others they are their authentic selves when they are dressed up. Authenticity varies from person to person, and is hard to point out in a crowd. It’s difficult to naturally “be authentically orange”- rather it is an achieved trait. One becomes “orange” after participating in school events, wearing orange, attending games and cheering on the Beavers.

Individuals must not forget about themselves and their minds well getting caught up in a society where individualism may be seen as a bad thing. Kierkegaard states that the crowd is “untruth, and makes the individual irresponsible” (lecture, 5/5/15). Following the majority of society makes us lie to ourselves about who we really are, and influences us to do things we may not usually do, which also makes us questionable in the realm of ethics. What often happens in society, however is dehumanization, the refusal to recognize humanity when people try to follow social norms and abide to laws (lecture, 5/19/15). This theory by Fanon proves that humans are often dehumanized- much like Jews in concentration camps during the Holocaust but in less extreme situations today. Instead, humans must be in the situation, in itself, for itself, and for others to be authentic and find themselves in the chaos of today’s world. Rather than following dehumanization, humans must strictly follow humanism. (lecture 5/19/15). In addition to following the theory of humanism, humans must realize their freedom and use it to their full potential. Freedom is the last existential theme of philosophy- it includes reflection, transcendence, and responsibility. Humans are condemned to be free. We have the freedom to create and choose values, we are self surpassing and lastly, man is responsible for everything that he does. (lecture 5/21/15).

To be authentically orange, one must truly believe that he/she is a true Beaver, and achieve status in being a true Beaver. It cannot be easily defined, as authenticity can vary person to person. However, if one follows the theories of humanism, freedom, and defy the common beliefs of the crowd and the herd to be true to themselves, and become purely authentic.