Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Tell yourself


Tell yourself you’re better off not knowing. Tell yourself everything will be okay. Tell yourself there’s no need to make a fuss about things that go wrong with the world. Tell yourself that those in charge are responsible and know what they’re doing. Tell yourself that those who robbed your country now have your best interest at heart. Tell yourself that the police that violated all laws will bring about justice. Tell yourself that the judges who have politicized most of their verdicts will now be impartial. Tell yourself that the corrupt businessmen who have manipulated politics for so long will now serve their districts. 

Tell yourself that those who called for bread, freedom and justice were all financed from abroad. Tell yourself that it was their responsibility to fix everything that has gone wrong. Tell yourself that the country is better off without them. Tell yourself that they’re naïve and lack the wisdom that you see. Tell yourself that they belong in jail. Tell yourself that the calls they leak are deserved. Tell yourself they’re in prison because they broke the law.

Tell yourself that it’s not acceptable that people protest using bad language even if who they’re protesting against are thieves, killers and thugs. Tell yourself that you’re better because you support the government politely and they oppose the government with impolite curses. Tell yourself that bad language is worse than murder, shouting worse than torture, that anyone with a uniform is better than someone without.

Tell yourself that your morals are intact when you preach them in the mosques, in the churches and in your work place, but that they don’t apply to political life. Tell yourself that you haven’t violated your own moral code when you cheer on every violation of human rights, every torture, every arbitrary arrest and every murder. Tell yourself that these things happen everywhere and that things will get better by themselves. 

Tell yourself everything you need to put your conscience at ease, so that you can sleep better at night.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Powerful stuff.

Anonymous said...

Haunting stuff!

Anonymous said...

Here's how I think this thing- the revolution- really is: like planting a seed, not knowing if the tree will grow in your lifetime, but it may blossom for your children. A true act of faith and love.

From one of the older ones.