CONSCIENCE

Photo by Mohammed Ibrahim on Unsplash

Conscience. The inner voice that supposedly tells us right from wrong. But I’ve started to wonder does it actually guide us? Or does it just make us feel guilty enough to post a story, but not guilty enough to change what we buy? We see the images from Palestine, we saw the biggest funeral. We know which companies are complicit. We share the infographics. We say we stand with the people. But when we’re tired, hungry, or craving something familiar we reach for the same brands. The morning coffee. The favourite burger. The lipstick we don’t need but want. We tell ourselves: “It’s just one time. It won’t make a difference anyway.” But it’s never just one time. It’s thousands of us, saying the same thing, thousands of times a day. And that does make a difference just not the one we claim to want. We make the excuses. “I’ve had a hard day, I deserve this.” “I’m only one person.” “I forgot to check the list.” If we all used those excuses, nothing would ever change. Change isn’t built on grand gestures. It’s built on the small sacrifices we make when no one is watching. It’s choosing discomfort over convenience. This isn’t really about coffee or makeup. It’s about whether we can tolerate being slightly uncomfortable so that someone else can survive. They are not asking us to fight their fight they are only asking to stop funding the people who are killing them. Sit with these words “They are asking us TO STOP FUNDING”. It’s about whether our conscience is real or just performative. A badge we wear to feel good about ourselves, without actually changing anything. Maybe conscience isn’t the voice that tells us what’s right. Maybe it’s the voice that asks: “What are you willing to lose for what you believe in?” And if the answer is “nothing” then we don’t have a conscience. We have a bookmark. A reminder we look at, but never turn the page on.

If you’re reading this and feeling defensive ask yourself why. Is it because I’m wrong? Or is it because I’m right, and you don’t want to sit with that?”