Essay Sample on Authenticity of Self: Exploring Kierkegaard and Bono

According to Kierkegaard, the authenticity of an individual lies in two factors, self-submission to serving the load and personal decision. For one to be considered authentic, Kierkegaard argued that the individual has to be outstanding by stepping out of the community norms to decide for himself how to react in a different situation.

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Moreover, the individual must give himself over to God. In the text by Chuck Klosterman, it is exciting how Bono is described, Bono seems to be a very selfless person who thinks of others and make an independent decision. For instance, the opinion of Bono concerning the cars built by the U. S is quite contrary to what others believe, including Klosterman, who feels that the vehicles are very classy, an opinion shared by many but not Bono. The decision of Bono seems to be majorly shaped by personal perspective and not the opinion of the mass, Bono' character is quite at home with what Kierkegaard describes to be legit.

During the encounter of the two, Bono and Klosterman, Bono is described to be acting as if she is being recorded for a documentary, which gives Klosterman an easy time through the interview. The actions of Bono seem very outrageous as, during the encounter, she was doing some unexpected that could seem acting, but then she was real. In my view, Klosterman met the real Bono, and it was not out of mere pretense the Bono was acting that way as the text clearly outlines Bono as very selfless and mindful of others.

People act differently in public as compared to what they are, but this should not rule out the possibility of one being authentic. Authenticity in a person can not be determined by fame or society, and it is a thing that is built within the person though the social influence may play a part. An individual is capable of being Authentic in society. It does not matter what the person does to humanity to be authentic; one needs to be real to his or her words to be authentic and to serve God sincerely as per the Kierkegaard argument.

Authenticity is more of a character than the habit of an individual; it comes naturally out of practices and what an individual believes in. That is why Kierkegaard connects it to spirituality. It is possible to make sincerity become a habit and eventually develops into a character that grows along with a person.

In the contemporary world, many external forces influence our nature; for instance, the media. Media is used by either government or a community to shape the opinion of others, but what still stands is that human man beings can think and reflect on any issue affecting them and comes up with an advisory opinion concerning it hence should not be significantly influenced by any force in the society. Any decision that affects an individual or by extension, an organization should be made at a personal level, and the external authorities should be there to help us make a more accurate and informed opinion on the issue affecting us. The baseline of my argument is that it is possible to be authentic, whether famous or not.