Collective Conscience

I am angry. I am angry that it is the last day of the year. I am angry that despite having 365 days this year, the world has the same problems we had last year.

I am angry because I saw a truck carrying empty chicken carts, and there was one small dead chicken on the floor beside them, but a man stood there looking through it like an obtuse fool, like he had a stone for a heart. I am angry that I saw a thin cow pulling a truckload of fruits, and a man sitting on it, whipping the cow to move faster in the afternoon heat.

I am angry because I saw a woman kicking a small cat because it was in her way. I am angry because I read in an article that approximately 2.7 million dogs and cats are killed every year because shelters are too full and there aren’t enough adoptive homes.

I am angry that those of us who know there’s a problem don’t do anything to address it. I am angry that we are afraid of people who are imposters, who should perhaps be the ones afraid because of what they do. I am angry that we God-worship people who are embodiments of hypocrisy, but we call out people who actually try to do some good.

I am angry that there are men who say ‘not all men’ because can’t they open their eyes to reality? I am angry that good men are affected in a world where all women are inevitably affected, for no fault of theirs. I am angry that patriarchy rules every nook and corner of our world. I am angry that in the post office, the postman ignored me when I entered with a man, but decided to take me seriously when I went in alone, probably because he didn’t have a choice.

I am angry because rapists exist, I am angry because homophobes exist, I am angry because gossipers exist. I am angry because we aren’t allowed to live our lives freely. I am angry because we’re all subject to the torment of ‘judgment of society’. I am angry that we realize important things only when something tragic or drastic or melancholic happens, and that that fleeting moment of realization passes with more time spent in this cruel, sadistic world.

I am angry that we don’t see a human for their worth, but for their power and money and influence. I am angry that we make jokes about sensitive things, while someone out there is suffering because of it. I am angry that people with money and resources continue being the people with money and resources, and the poor people remain poor people despite slaving away to the tunes of the well-heeled. I am angry that farmers toil mercilessly for us, and we take for granted their travail regardless, by wasting food.

I am angry. I am angry that it is the last day of the year. I am angry that despite having 365 days this year, the world has the same problems that we had the last year.

Are we ready to sacrifice our sanity, willingly give up the remaining strands of our dignity, succumb to zealotry, and give up our personal ideas of what is good and bad? What are we going to do this year? Are we going to dance to the whims and fancies of others, or are we going to, as people who should make a change, dance to our own ideals and stand up for ourselves? What are we going to do this year

Because if you’re truly thinking, then you’re angry too.