Insecurity is Misery

Deep-rooted insecurity can affect our actions. It’s a problem for people of all different ages. The tragedy of Othello, written by William Shakespeare depicts a theme of manipulation and insecurity. Throughout the story we see Iago tricking everyone around him in order to gain leverage to get to a higher rank. There is definitely insecurity in him that leads him to doubt that he might not be able to reach his goals without swindling.

*“The fear that as things stand, this person will not gain a desired result produced from their own merits. That life and other people will not provide favorably. That life and others are positioned against this person” — Why Do People Manipulate?*

Believing rumors is easy, especially when you are indoctrinated into doing so. They’re often spread by someone who has problems with themselves and take it out on others. Jealousy can create a villain inside of you that you can’t control.

If you’ve ever been manipulated before, you know that it’s from a person you thought you could trust. Manipulators seem trustworthy because they are putting up an act that they care about you when really they don’t. When ideas are planted in our heads, naturally, we believe them. It’s important that we know who the real people are and not be gullible without seeing the evidence.

As a high school teenager, I have heard ridiculous rumors all the time. At the beginning I would give into them, because the story sounds so believable. But that’s just what the person spreading them wants. After a while, I start to think about how I have never heard these things from the person themselves, but always a second source, which is why I try to stop myself in the tracks before believing a random rumor. There is an insecurity inside of the person spreading these rumors that causes them to want to put down others to make themselves seem superior. Its almost laughable to think about how the most you can gain out of lying is to move slightly up in social status, which is apparently very important and is shown through the amount of rumors I have heard.

Rumors themselves have the ability to ruin a person’s life completely. It changes your perception of a person that would not have happened if you did not hear the rumor at all. Ignorance really is bliss when it comes to rumors and gossip. In the story of Othello, the reader can see how rumors spiral out of control and lead to multiple characters to their demise and even tragic deaths. Their fates could have all been easily avoided if they all did not give into the manipulation that is Iago. Though it isn’t always as fatal in real life, the story is a good exaggeration to show the costs of rumors and steers the audience away from repeating their actions.

Knowing this, we as a people should make our best efforts in order to understand that manipulators are acting out due to their own insecurities, and if you feel the urge to also spread false information, don’t. Not only should we not be an Othello, being deceived by false rumors and not trusting someone you love, but we also definitely should not be the Iago’s of the world, manipulating everyone and ruining their lives. You can’t gain much from it and doesn’t prove beneficial and usually causes more pain in yourself or even others around you.