I hear all sorts of talk from just about every side of every issue about being "woke" or whatever equivalent term that is preferred by the particular individual or group that happens to be speaking. Being "woke" is presented as though it is a requirement for recognizing the "truth" that is around us. This is not incorrect, mind you, but the "truth" isn't agreed upon by all of these supposedly "woke" people. This suggests, that there is more to understanding the nature of one's reality than simply uncovering a few of the lies that we have been taught to believe. People have a tendency to think that they have finished their "work" before they are done and this issue, I believe, is no different. When we see that the approved narratives are false and exploitative, it is easy to assume that anything that conflicts with those narratives is the truth but this is both flawed and potentially hazardous. Discovering the lies of one who seeks to exploit us, does not mean that we are immune to the lies of another, and if we fail to continue questioning after "waking," we may be trading one deceiver for another.
When the "truth" is found to be lies, it can be both liberating and terrifying and both of those feelings can be used against us by new lairs, who view our fresh disillusionment as an opportunity to be seized upon. Liberation and fear seem to be opposing sensations but both are generated by the act of realizing that we have been presented with a false reality by the authorities, the media, and other systems of power and control. It is freeing to no longer be burdened by falsehood. One is no longer chained to useless, harmful, and self-exploiting ideas. It can make one feel wise and powerful. However, there is also a new uncertainty that comes with seeing through propaganda and misinformation. Before the "waking," one had false certainty to comfort his or her mind but when the realization begins, there is nothing to replace that certainty, the comfort evaporates, and it leaves fear in its place. This strange emotional state makes us vulnerable. Because we feel powerful, we overestimate our abilities to resist new lies and because we feel unsure, we are more likely gravitate toward people or groups who offer the assuredness that we have lost. This peculiar combination of coexisting states of mind is perfect for one who wishes to mislead us. We will not resist their advance as readily because we think our new "powers" of interpretation (or whatever you want to call it) are our shields and armor but they only protect us if we actively use them. Then, this theoretical "They" offers us his or her or its guidance in exchange for loyalty, wealth, or some other "payment."
When we are fooled in this way, we awaken to another dream and it can often be worse than the one we abandoned. It is no stretch to say that the governments, media, wealthy, and powerful of the world lie to us. It takes only a slight effort to come to this realization but doing so is useless if we simply trade our subservience to the dominate system of authority for another, perhaps, more harmful system authority. I look at the westerners who went off to join terrorist organizations as a prime example of how poorly this false "wakefulness" can play out. I am certain that those people believed that they were "woke" when they realized that they were being lied to about international involvement in the Middle East. Of course, this is not an incorrect. We are lied to about all sorts of things but those individuals only swapped an oppressive ideology for an oppressive and extremest ideology. They chose to serve masters in the East instead of masters in the West but they still bowed down to an authority that cares nothing for them or the people it harms in its pursuit of power. Choosing fanaticism is just as flawed as choosing corporatism, authoritarianism, or any other terrible system of control. Just because one may stand in opposition to another does not mean that is correct, just, or worthy but this is the sort of danger we can face if we stop questioning after becoming "woke."
There are other ways that these false awakenings can lead to undesirable outcomes; however, most are less extreme than participating in religious violence. One may learn that the government doesn't care about our health and safety (which is true) and be tricked into buying worthless, supposedly protective, products from shameless salesmen as a result. One may find out that his or her priest or holy figure (it doesn't matter which kind) is untrustworthy and decide to run off to join a cult that is even less trustworthy. A person realizes that his or her medicine may not work as well as advertised and starts carrying around a "magic" rock (which the "mystical" seller "miraculously" picked up off the street before putting it up for sale). "The elites are liars and thieves but this nice man says that if we sign our houses over to him, he can build a death ray to fight the space elves who run Secret Congress from their hidden moon base" is something I wouldn't be completely surprised to hear from some YouTube personality with a shockingly large number of subscribers.
This isn't to say that all conspiracies are wrong or that alternative information should be avoided. On the contrary, we should listen to everything, we should see every bit of information that we can, and we should examine it with an inquisitive eye. Some things are true and some are not. Some people are liars and predators while others are innocently mistaken. These are the facts of the reality that we inhabit. The important thing is that we remember to question claims and weigh them to the best of our abilities, no matter where that come from. Forgetting to question is an easy trap to fall into and it is not exclusive to the "blind" or the foolish. We must be wary but we can rest assured that the power to tread carefully of blunder into a pit rests in our own minds. Many things can be stolen from but no one can take our questions, if we do not let them.
Peace.
All the images in this post are sourced from the free image website, unsplash.com.