The Unspoken Views

A trip to the other side brought a shift in perspective and fearful questions that altered the view of the world around and the world within. Coming to understand the idea of community and the feeling of belonging, the eye-opening understanding of what it feels like to be at home. The comprehensive understanding of who one is and how one comes to be. The sound of sirens, rockets flying nearby, and the idea of fighting for your life or for the ones you love. It is inexplicable to be so close to war yet still feel so alive for the sake of needing to simply be with those you love until the last second. This puts into perspective who you want to be close to and who you want to take a step back from. Not as a matter of belief or background, but of values and morals and understanding where and how one connects with people who align with who you are, rather than being with those who choose to focus solely on the propaganda. The undeniable reality of the situation and the perspective one gains when realizing that peace and community are all that one truly wants, and that conflicting with worldly views can lead to division, just to maintain a forced sense of belonging and home, regardless of whether that aligns with your morals and values. The idea of humanity and humanitarian ideologies has become hypocritical as one defends one side over the other solely due to the killings and death tolls. People see beyond the numbers and often forget that humans—real beings—are on the frontlines without having been asked if they want to be there. They lack a choice, yet we are so quick to judge based on the news that is shared, and on the likes, reposts, or clicks that support the algorithms we feed into. So, what is the solution? How can we change these views? How can we look past the news and the immediate influence of shared information if people readily trust and rely on the first source presented to them without question? The idea of death supports this, but people fail to look beyond it; they don't acknowledge that it’s not only about the number of deaths but also about how one can support a side that continues to kill. Why is there a side? Why is there a division? Why choose hate over love or community? What makes it so easy for one to simply choose a side when there should be only one—the people? How can it be that one is so afraid to speak their truth or to witness it for themselves? To discuss war, to speak about living in that place without fully knowing or hearing the stories, to understand that even within it is a division of perspectives but a harmony of acceptance and respect, as people lack a choice. This causes conflict and chaos but also evokes a sense of uncertainty, the unknowing of when people will begin to see past propaganda, money, numbers, and power, and focus on what is visibly presented to us daily—the sense of self and belonging with those around us, the harmony and respect among people simply living and choosing to live. Who are we to pick a side? Who are we to claim comprehensive knowledge? There is always more to the story than what is presented—details, characters, pawns, and everything in between. We do not get to decide who is right or wrong; we can only choose to live, to embrace harmony, acceptance, and love. But to reach that point, it begins with one. If those around us assert otherwise, it is not our role to change their minds with words, but through actions that demonstrate what is possible. One cannot convince those who have made up their minds, but we can create our thoughts and reality, not by being oblivious and blinding ourselves to reality, but by being conscious and knowledgeable with unbiased beliefs and perspectives. For that, we must be curious, question, and not settle for the first supposed truth that is presented to us. We need to go beyond the norms of understanding and seek the truth with our own eyes, acknowledging that it may go against the commonalities of this world, while seeking the truth within ourselves. The moment we choose to conform to what others say for a forced sense of belonging, we lose our sense of self. Suppose the self is harmonious with others, not through choice but through alignment. In that case, we realize that force does not need to come into question, but rather the possibility of community beyond forced judgment and bias. Once we see that this is possible, we open ourselves to the potential of transcending propaganda and the noise that silences who we are and blinds us from our truth. Give yourself a chance to seek your truth, and those who resonate or align with it are those meant to cross your path. Even those who challenge it will pave the way for the expansion of knowledge.

Z.