Are We Awake?

The Truth We Avoid. The Harm We Justify. The Stories We’re Still Telling Ourselves.

We like to think we’re the good ones.That if something terrible were happening around us, we’d see it.We’d say something.We’d stop it.

But history says otherwise.And so does the present.

Most People Don’t Look Away Out of Cruelty—They Look Away for Comfort.

We avoid the truth when it threatens what we’ve built.We deny harm when it challenges what we believe.We tell ourselves lies—not because we’re evil, but because they’re easier to live with.

• We say it didn’t happen.

• We say it isn’t that bad.

• We say that’s just how the world works.

• We make ourselves believe.

And slowly, the truth becomes a threat—Not to justice, but to the story we’ve created.

We Learn Early to Keep Up the Image

In families, we don’t talk about what hurt us.We present a version of ourselves that’s shiny, stable, fine. We don’t admit our wounds, even to ourselves—sometimes because feeling wounded is all we’ve ever known.We don’t know what it is to feel whole.

Institutions do the same.Religious groups. Political parties. Governments.They polish their surfaces and call themselves virtuous.They call lies told to protect the group necessary.They call loyalty to an unethical leader patriotism.

We protect the image—even when people are being harmed behind it.

And most of the time?The people inside the system believe they’re doing the right thing.

Good People Have Justified Atrocities for Centuries

Slavery. Genocide. Exploitation.Not carried out by monsters.Carried out by people with flags, prayers, laws, and uniforms.People who obeyed. Who stayed silent.People who believed it was right.

The most dangerous kind of harm is the kind wrapped in certainty.

History doesn’t repeat itself because we forget it. It repeats because we convince ourselves:This time, it’s different. We’re different.

We’re Being Swayed—And Most of Us Don’t Even Know It

Our worldview is being shaped:

• Our newsfeeds are designed to confirm our bias.

• Our outrage is being monetized.

• Our silence is expected.

What we call truth might be manipulation.What we think is normal may be nothing more than a habit.And what we assume “they believe” might just be a well-funded illusion.

So ask yourself:

• Who built this version of reality I’m living in?

• Who profits from it?

• Could it be better?

  
  

Truth Is a Threat to Systems That Depend on Your Sleep

Waking up isn’t poetic. It's uncomfortable. It makes waves. It forces us to face harsh realities.

It asks us to choose:

Do I keep defending the lie—or do I start telling the truth?

You won’t be applauded for seeing clearly. You won't be richer because you're ethical. You may lose people.

But you’ll be part of the solution.

Ask Yourself—And Mean It:

• What am I pretending not to know?

• What story am I still protecting?

• Who is being harmed by my silence?

• Am I awake—or just following rules?

Because truth won’t beg you to look.

Terrible things often happen when we fail to look hard enough.And not because people believe they’re doing wrong—But because they convince themselves they’re doing what is necessary, natural, or even noble.

That should unsettle us.

If we want to prevent horrific injustices, we must begin with a hard truth:

Suffering is often invisible to those who benefit from it.

And waking up—though uncomfortable—is the only way we start to see it.

To prevent tragedies, to have a world worth living in, we must commit to uncovering and confronting uncomfortable truths.

If we can see reality—really see it—then maybe we can learn from the past and build a world that is more compassionate and more honest: a world worth waking up for.