I look around and see a world that has flipped its moral compass. What was once considered good is now seen as bad, and vice versa. The lines between right and wrong are blurred by narratives that favour power and profit. For instance, look at how complex conflicts like the one between Palestine and Israel are often framed in black and white terms, with one side labelled as the eternal aggressor and the other as the perpetual victim. We’re bombarded with the idea of a “just” war, as if any violence can be truly just, while business is increasingly prioritized over human lives. The uniqueness of a human being is dismissed as an obstacle; conformity is celebrated, especially in industries like fashion, where blending in is rewarded, and standing out is punished.
It feels like we are living in an illusion, a collective hysteria driven by greed and competition. The ability to question has eroded, replaced by a herd mentality that accepts the loudest voices as truth. Our societies are increasingly divided, and our leaders—both in politics and business—are trapped in their own fantasies of control. Political leaders seem to act as though they hold all the power, yet every day they are confronted by their own impotence. Some respond by saying the right things to appease their voters, while others double down, using fear and force to maintain a grip on power. Business leaders, too, are more beholden to the stock market and their investors than ever, chasing profits at any cost, regardless of the human toll.
What’s clear to me is that the system is broken because it’s designed to serve the few at the expense of the many. The narrative that “the few serve the many” has flipped, and now it’s the many who are made to serve the interests of the few. The illusion has become the norm, and we’re all complicit to some degree. We’ve become so conditioned to accept what we’re told that the very act of questioning feels radical. But it’s precisely this questioning—this willingness to confront uncomfortable truths—that is desperately needed.
The only real way forward is for each of us to take control of the one thing we truly can: our own actions. It’s about personal accountability and the courage to live in a way that’s real, not dictated by the illusions that surround us. This means facing ourselves honestly—our values, our choices, and the people we’ve become. We need to focus on who we want to be, not in competition with others, but in collaboration with them. It’s not about taking more than our share, but about creating a world where everyone can thrive.
We can’t control the political landscape or the whims of industry leaders, but we can control our decisions. Every choice we make matters. We have to be brave enough to challenge the norm and act with integrity, even when it’s inconvenient or unpopular. Only then can we begin to dismantle the illusion and build a reality worth living in—one that values people over profit, truth over convenience, and community over competition.
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