Why are you silent?
I may not say it perfectly, but I can’t keep these words in my chest.
What happens when people lose their ability to see the humanity in others? When numb hearts begin to “other”?
The old adage “divide and conquer” is far too apropos to explain how humans are being played against each other, justifying genocide, war crimes, racism, and exploitation because numb hearts have forgotten how to cherish life that looks different than one’s own.
I find it hard to intellectualize the placid acceptance shown through the way people are silent in the face of travesty. It seems it’s easier for many to stick their head in the sand instead of addressing the vast history of colonial and capitalistic crimes.
It’s time to say “enough.”
We need to stop accepting the pattern of devastation of cultures, communities, and ecosystems in the death-ridden trail of attempted capitalistic gain. It cannot just be those beings affected who say “enough,” it needs to be those who are sitting in privilege.
One recent poll found seventy-one percent of Canadians support Canada calling for a ceasefire in the war between the apartheid state of Israel and Hamas, and yet what action has been taken by the government that’s supposed to be representing us? We need to take our power back, come together, and remember that millions of people who rise for peace are stronger than a few figureheads who refuse to defend it.
I pray that the pendulum stops swinging from devastation to devastation, and that we pause and question what a society based in love and respect looks like.
As humans we need to learn, unlearn, and move in new ways that fiercely protect life.
If someone has resources or is successful, it does not mean they have earned the ability to isolate from the disharmony of Earth. It means they have more tools and responsibility to address the truths of our current planet and to take action to create change.
You are needed, because we are needed together. We each need to light our hearts on fire, more often, for love.
I’m not okay in any way with how greed and colonial and capitalist wounds are still festering on this planet. I refuse to accept this as the ongoing reality. And so, first, its presence needs to be acknowledged so we can learn with humility what needs to change inside of us and in our actions. If we bypass addressing the cause of these patterns, how can we change tomorrow?
Do not get distracted by the bread and circuses. We need the momentum anchored in our hearts of what we believe a world can look like if we rise together and declare “no longer will we be silent in the protection of the humanity of another.”