Thread by @sunnshiiny

Sometimes I come across posts that are critical of the human race. People are overwhelmed by the amount of evil committed by fellow members of the human species.

People overwhelmed by Trump, extremism, Q cult members, nationalists, Dominionists.

https://twitter.com/sunnshiiny/status/1312772017201057792

At one point, I was overwhelmed by the acknowledgement of these human being’s influence in the modern world. But I’m no longer overwhelmed. I’m resigned to their existence. That doesn’t mean I gave up hope or faith in humankind. Exactly the opposite.

People who embody the worst of human behaviour have always existed, & always will.

But if we look to history, they have ALWAYS been the minority.

Most human beings are good natured. Most human beings want peace, love, hope & freedom. About 85% of the human race desires this.

Human beings want these ephemeral states of being so much, they often convince themselves they possess them.

Delusion and denial are powerful methods to overcome the worst of realities. Human beings have the ability to create their own reality.

We see what we want to see. We create the truths that we desire. All within our own minds.

It’s how human beings cope with tragedy, disaster and crises since the beginning of human existence.

Our reality is partially created by our own desires, hopes and dreams.

Problems occur when truth & reality remove the mask of delusion and denial we have lived within to protect our psyche (our sanity).

When we tell ourselves humankind is all good, we excuse and forget the malevolence found within the human experience.

We numb ourselves to the experiences of those made victim to conflict, hate and indifference, despair & persecution.

But every once in awhile, the delusion and denial is removed.

Now is one of those times. The abuses of malevolent human beings can not be ignored or denied.

That’s cognitive dissonance.

Our experience is not consistent with our beliefs.

We question belief. We fear reality is too horrific to acknowledge. Fearing our faith in humanity’s goodness is unfounded.

Nothing has changed. The only element that has changed is awareness.

Humanity has always included those that seek to control, harm, hoard, war monger, hate, destroy trust & remove freedoms.

We have chosen to ignore reality and deny the existence of those human beings that embody the worst of human capacity.

What we have considered reality was ALWAYS delusion.

The victims of the malevolent do not have the luxury of deluding themselves to the realities of the human experience. The most vulnerable must constantly be aware of threats & must learn to react & counteract or become victim.

And that is the opportunity presented to you when you experience cognitive dissonance.

The world hasn’t changed. Your perception has changed. Humanity isn’t any different, your experience has been altered.

Your beliefs aren’t challenged, it’s the delusions you created fading.

Many human beings make it through their entire existence in a cloud of delusion and denial. Believing their experience of humanity is transferable to all other human beings. Those are generally the people who most benefit from systemic privilege.

They believe the privileges they possess are also possessed by all and failure to take advantage of those privileges mostly explains poor life outcomes.

This is the myth we are born into and many never escape.

Born, live and die in complete delusion to reality.

That doesn’t make them evil human beings. It makes them ignorant. In the true definition of the word. Lacking knowledge. Lacking awareness. Ignorance is not stupidity, it’s bliss. If you are unaware of a problem, how can it exist in human reality?

Cognitive dissonance is caused by awareness and knowledge of reality. When the delusions are shattered. When the denial cannot be maintained.

Every woman who is also a loving mother (and most dads) intrinsically understands this paradigm shift.

As an independent adult, you selectively ignored reality. When you became a parent, you no longer had that luxury. Suddenly everything becomes a danger to the life of your offspring. Reckless drivers, strangers in your neighbourhood, pedophiles, children’s products producers.

Everything becomes a threat to be assessed and evaluated for its impact on your offspring. Because you are their guardian. You are responsible for their physical and mental wellbeing. Your failure to respond to reality literally means life or death for your child.

That’s why almost every parent’s first born is doted upon & mom/dad remains hyper vigilant to the dangers presented in reality.

Nothing changed. Life didn’t become more dangerous. New parents just started paying attention to reality instead of the delusion of safety & security.

That’s the same type of paradigm shift experienced when your eyes are opened to the reality of human depravity.

It has always existed. Human depravity was always there. It just didn’t impact you because of the delusions you told yourself. So your beliefs do not need to change.

People ARE mostly good. But there are some who choose not to take that path. There are some who choose to abuse, harm, subjugate, destroy, belittle & dehumanize.

Your awareness is a gift. Not a curse.

It provides you with the opportunity to act on your awareness & knowledge.

What you choose to do is your freedom to act. No one can remove that freedom from you.

Helplessness is a state of mind, not reality.

You can curl up in a ball and seek denial and delusion. Question everything you ever believed or valued. Turn cynical and trust no one.

Or you can make the paradigm shift in the opposite direction. Forget shame and guilt for perpetuating past myths.

Act on the knowledge that some (the minority) want all the power, all the resources, & couldn’t care any less if others are harmed or die in their pursuit of power.

A minority is ONLY able to claim power if the myth that humanity is all evil or all good is perpetuated.

Neither is true.

There is mostly benevolence within humanity. But we need to maintain awareness of those who represent the worst of human characteristics.

We must block those with these characteristics from power and decision making.

As human beings, this comes naturally to our basic instincts. We are social mammals after all.

Protect the most vulnerable. Fend off threats. Block & banish those with evil intent.

That’s what makes us human; our sentience.

Cognitive dissonance is perception sensing experience is inconsistent with belief. It’s your capacity to feel and to act that defines your humanity. You have the capacity to change the world to reflect belief & values.

What a gift to be human, and lucky enough to be sentient and aware of our sentience.

Reality is what you choose to see.

It can be a challenge of your beliefs.

Or it can be an opportunity for virtues to become behaviour and uniting in purpose to protect all.