The partition of the world is rapidly becoming more apparent. With every political conflict, lines are drawn. Stances are more visible, despite the varying justifications. You have those who side with one political group fighting for survival, a cause battling for a voice, and an ideology resisting the barrage of external forces. And you have those who venture into the argument of the absurd by justifying war for the sake of peace, carnage for the purposes of self-preservation, and obliterating principles to reinforce the claim that fortune and status is the most alluring identifiers of existence. However, there is a group in between the two philosophies of existence, those who are falsely labelled as “undecided.”

It’s a tag which would have you convinced that they are yet to form a decision. When, in fact, they have already chosen a side. It’s not out of passivity or lack of conviction, but rather a stance of logical disengagement. A rational fostered by the belief that they are solely unable to change the narratives and view the expenditure of energy as futile. They’ve convinced themselves through expanded discourses and exchanges that their efforts will result, at best, in microscopic change. An outcome, in their view, that doesn’t yield much benefit. This mantra is supported with the current missing motivational impetus in the landscape. That of an absence of trusted leaders.

It’s a demanding requirement considering that trusting someone is a gamble. A risk, for the pragmatic, that isn’t worth venturing. Especially if the proposition comes from a source or field of expertise prone to actions and behaviors of deception. Thankfully, the map to trusting does exist. Naturally, the work and effort are tremendously laborious and taxing. It begins with a willingness to understand fully. Not to say that it could ever be truly accomplished. What needs to happen is to locate a space of mutual understanding given a particular situation and context. If there is a common area where minds meet and sensibilities are shared, that’s where operations can lead to constructing a path towards active solutions. Simply put, if you understand the intentions of an individual or group, trusting them surfaces as an option.

Solidifying trust requires an incubation period. Time + consistency + relative action = building trust. It is extremely difficult to establish when there is an absence of common sense. Universally, there is a general acceptance of abandoning common sense for the sake of self-preservation. Maintaining personalized bubbles in an ecosystem which offers a comfort through distractions. If we were to take a zoomed-out look at the present societal landscape, it would be apparent that the managed masses (MM) are being led by the dominant minority (DM). DMs have crafted a formula to create an illusionary state of comfort for the MMs to be satisfied with the present global predicament. This isn’t a new concept.

The literary works of George Orwell’s “1984,” Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World,” and, to an extent, Franz Kafka’s writings have conveyed a similar sentiment. The metamorphosis, as undesirable as it sounds, is present. And rapidly spreading. It’s a convenient situation for the MMs. Knowingly, they adopt the trends, fads, sayings, and attitudes broadcasted on various social media platforms and reinforced in social settings. The product is that the MMs behave and sound the same. They talk, think, act all in a conformity. Creating a vacuum of individuality.

Individualism is, in fact, disintegrating into fiction. What’s present is an acceptance to conform based on the values, principles, ideals, desires to suit the agenda of the DMs. The MMs accept it because they have been convinced that this model suits them. It’s a system that’s difficult to argue against given its popularity. The argument so often heard that of “everyone is doing it” is difficult to counter. Having no one to support you or vouch for you does create a label. One that reads “untrustworthy.” Without trust there is no currency. Which is why it’s important for the MMs to conform solely for the purposes of self-preservation. As a reward for their willful imprisonment, they have access to whatever they want, however they want it, and whenever they want it. Here, in the DMs ecosystem, the MMs are allowed everything all the time. But it of course comes with conditions. That to accept the DMs conditioning and not breach their rules or interfere with their plans. You might begin to ask yourselves, what are those plans?

I encourage you again to exit your bubble and to briefly breathe in the toxic air. To take a look around and ask yourselves, does everything outside your bubble make sense? Does it make common sense to wage war under the pretense of achieving peace? To dismiss the cries of those who are echoing the decay of the planet? To turn a blind eye at all the corruption and injustices surrounding the external layer of your bubble? If provoked, you know none of it makes sense. And then we return back to the core of the purpose of existence. It poses a relatively simple but loaded question: What should I do? The choice has always been yours. You can exercise free will even after prolonged exposure to the DMs system. It begins with a reevaluation of your priorities. Do you place more value on your principles or those ideals imposed on you? Do you recall what you believe in or would you rather remain being instructed on what you should achieve? Simply put, would you like to regain your individuality?

To reclaim your individuality is a reference of performing a Jihad of the self. To strive to become a genuine you. To connect with yourself and be real. Once you establish the connection, you will form solutions and store them in your being no matter what hardships and pressures you’ll encounter. And you will not be alone. Assistance is ever-present outside the bubble and beyond the ecosystem. It begins with trusting yourself. You will make better decisions. Real ones that will repel the plasticity of the artificial system constructed by the DMs. You will no longer be managed but guiding yourself. And you will be able to do it because you finally trust who you are. That’s when, organically, you will be able to lead by example. The world does need more leaders who are real.