Remaining Human in an Age of Alienation and Madness

I do not wish to talk about the recent violent incident.
I want to talk about 'why it happened' and 'why it keeps repeating'.
What happened at Bondi Beach is not merely a tragedy.
It is a symptom of the pathology that modern society suffers from.

I am not here to talk about a violent incident itself.
I am here to talk about why it happened—and why it keeps happening.
What happened at Bondi Beach was not just a tragedy.
It was a symptom of a deeper illness within modern society.

People do not turn to extremist ideologies solely to survive.
What is more dangerous is when they turn to them in search of 'meaning' or 'purpose'.
Individuals who are alienated, harbor suppressed anger, and have lost their place in the world
crave a narrative.
A narrative where good and evil are clear, and which gives meaning to their actions.

People do not drift toward extremism only to survive.
The real danger comes when they are searching for meaning and purpose.
Alienated, frustrated, and displaced individuals crave a narrative—
a story that clearly defines good and evil
and gives meaning to action.

That is why I say I can 'understand' the structure that draws the impoverished and those on the fringes of society
toward extremist ideologies.
That is not condoning them.
It is a structural understanding.

That is why I say I can understand—not justify—the structure
that draws marginalized people toward extremist ideologies.
This is not approval.
It is structural understanding.

However, there is something I cannot understand.
The reality that middle-class, educated people,
who have grown up benefiting from Western society,
are shouting the same extremist slogans
and standing in the same demonstrations.

But there is something I cannot understand.
Middle-class, educated people—
raised with the privileges of Western society—
chanting the same extremist slogans
and standing in the same demonstrations.

They are not participating to 'survive'.
They are seeking 'energy'.
They are choosing to feel rather than to think.

They are not joining to survive.
They are joining for energy.
They choose feeling over thinking.

Before this is a problem of ideology,
it is a problem of education, a problem of community,
and a problem of 'alienation'.

Before it is an ideological problem,
this is an educational problem, a community problem,
and ultimately, a problem of alienation.

Schools can no longer handle this problem alone.
Especially in Japan, education is optimized for exams.
The goal is to provide the correct answer,
and there is no training in how to ask good questions.

Schools can no longer carry this burden alone.
In Japan especially, education is optimized for exams.
Producing correct answers is the goal—
learning how to ask good questions is not.

That is why I create a 'space for thinking' outside of school.
That is my choice.

That is why I choose to create spaces for thinking outside schools.
That is my choice.

At the same time, we live in the greatest of contradictions.
Information is more accessible than ever in history.
Yet, people are more isolated than ever in history.

At the same time, we live in a profound contradiction.
Information has never been more accessible—
yet people have never been more isolated.

Social media was born to connect people.
But now, people live 'between the screen and their eyes'.
Real-world dialogue is vanishing,
and only emotions are amplified.

Social media was created to connect us.
Now people live in the space between their eyes and the screen.
Real dialogue disappears,
while emotion is endlessly amplified.

An isolated person does not think.
They feel.
And feelings are easily manipulated.

An isolated person does not think.
They feel.
And feelings are easily manipulated.

That is why I do not try to change everything.
That would be arrogant.
I only do what I can.

That is why I do not try to change everything.
That would be arrogance.
I focus only on what I can do.

First,
I conduct education that encourages critical thinking
outside of school.

First,
I promote education that cultivates critical thinking—
outside institutional systems.

Second,
I create communities where people can meet face-to-face, move their bodies, and feel that they 'are here'.

Second,
I help build communities where people meet face-to-face,
move their bodies, and feel present.

Third,
I stop radicalization through dialogue,
not through anger.

Third,
I choose dialogue over rage
to resist radicalization.

The practice of yoga and body manipulation returns people to reality
through "sensation" rather than ideology.
It is a small act,
but a certain step.

Yoga and embodied practice return people to reality
through sensation, not ideology.
It is a small act—
but a real one.

I do not promise a perfect solution.
But I will not remain silent.

I do not promise a perfect solution.
But I refuse silence.

In an age where madness spreads,
I choose to remain human.

In an age where madness spreads,
I choose to remain human.

#ModernSociety
#AgeOfMadness
#SocialFragmentation
#Isolation
#Alienation
#Radicalization
#Deradicalization
#AntiIntellectualism
#CriticalThinking
#PowerOfThought
#LimitsOfEducation
#LearningOutsideSchool
#SocialMediaAge
#SmartphoneSociety
#EmotionalRunaway
#PowerOfDialogue
#Community
#LossOfPurpose
#RemainingHuman
#QuietResistance
#ModernSociety
#AgeOfMadness
#SocialFragmentation
#Alienation
#Radicalization
#Deradicalization
#CriticalThinking
#DeathOfThought
#EducationCrisis
#BeyondSchool
#DigitalIsolation
#SocialMediaAge
#EmotionalManipulation
#DialogueMatters
#CommunityBuilding
#LossOfMeaning
#RemainHuman
#QuietResistance
#HumanDignity