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PARRHESIA, Now more important than ever. by Kayla Henry It’s been like this forever. This isn’t a change of weather. Freedoms hanging by a thread here while we binge Netflix and TikTok... Now, I’m not here to judge you. I know we’re all scared and tired and we’ve been so hardwired. Media fueled the wrong fires. We’re depressed, we’re dying while billionaires are crying with laughter— And we’re just running faster away from reality. Well ... Why wouldn’t we? They’ve got guns and we’ve got family. This isn’t conspiracy— theories have been brought to light throughout history. We’re in a cave thinking we’re free. Won’t go to the light, it’s easier not to see. Can we go back to dictionaries? When definitions were clear? We don’t read, we just fear. Words manipulated we didn’t know existed. Let teachers fix it so parents can be distant. Mess with child development. “Just leave it to the government,” let them draw our paths ‘cause we gave them the pencil. We can erase this if we face it. Us against the faces that convince us drugs will solve our problems while they profit from our consumption. Stop listening to stars and politicians and begin using intuition, Discerning fact from fiction. Stop paying into our addiction of listening to a system that’s turning us into victims of our lack of wisdom. If you don’t see it now, it’s okay to be confused, but don’t throw rocks at those who do. Take a step back and you’ll see who is piloting this ruse: A bunch of individuals profiting from your residuals, putting our money into propaganda and riot police instead of into our failing healthcare system. They’ve always done this: saying they need our cash to fix the roads while they ride private jets and fancy boats. No wonder we can’t stay afloat... We’re right where they want us: distanced and thoughtless, avoiding each other so we can’t discuss what’s wrong with this picture. Instead we write our feelings— caps lock on with words vomiting out of our thumbs without knowledge of real arguing. Why can’t ideas be shared without ruining friendships and careers? Just ‘cause someone got offended? Never learned emotional intelligence? Your feelings have no relevance in the crusade for truth. If they gave any credit to the people we wouldn’t have censored information. We just see one side on every station pushing separation between each other so we’re too busy judging mothers who wonder why their kids are being smothered— Masks in gym class, call out the other when he pulls down his mask. How do they even learn in class? Ads selling problems not solutions. Our institutions told us following was the solution. ‘Cause if you think for yourself “you’ll go nowhere with an F.” But I can tell you the people who came out independent were the ones who were observant. I had to unlearn to become present, and yeah, I’m still working on it, but I make choices for myself. This isn’t about health. If it were they’d tell us: “get your vitamins” “go for walks whenever you can” “do sports and eat well” “have interactions – real human connections” “raise your kids with healthy immune systems”. Instead they punish insurrections that fight for freedom from the infectious disease that is control. They swallow us whole. Keep us indoors. Special treatment for big-box stores, but give us fines when we’re unsure what martial law is in place today. Throw us cheques to stay on our good side, keep us lost and afraid ‘cause we can’t afford a rising mortgage or rent since we lost our pay. It was never gonna be just a few days.