Tomorrow's Army

We all talk about the how the holocaust really happened. That it wasn’t just the rise of the Nazis, or how it wasn’t only an individual man who caused all the slaughter. It was made possible by the millions of people who didn’t see it coming. By the people who didn’t stand up to the small signs of injustice in the years leading up to the second world war.

We all talk about it, people these days even like to share comparisons of then and now, declaring the same thing is happening now. And it is, in a way. It is always happening. These may be new times, new leaders, new circumstances but the dynamic of the common people vs those in power is a tale as old as our own history. 

I think we all like to believe that we wouldn’t have been the ones to allow the nazis to do what they did, that we would have helped, we would have stood up but that is just the human way of convincing itself that it is a valuable and good member of its group, tribe or society. Our mind doesn’t actually need any evidence to believe this, in fact our mind could be given evidence to suggest the opposite and we would likely still believe we are the righteous ones. 

Are we doomed? Doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past, as long as dictators rise, the people are powerless. As long as fascism spreads, the people are oppressed. 

We are a global population of 8 billion. 8 billion individuals. Lets start at the individual, then. It is all I am really qualified to speak on anyway, since all I am is an individual. How can I arm and defend myself against tyranny, how I can be sure that if I am tested in the reign of fascism I do not stay silent and that my voice is not just martyred? Historically those brave enough to stand against the dangerous status quo have faced lethal consequences. This can be a good deterrent to be the lone brave soul. 

We need to be the many then, the many more than the overlords. The many that without our compliance, without our participation there can be no system of oppression. At least at this point. 

I used to have discussions with friends of mine about what the world would look like if all the leaders of the world who are standing on our necks would just disappear. People could be free, we could build something better, but the reality wouldn’t be that. The reality would be that, we, the people would not be ready to take up the reigns of society and in our scramble to figure out what to do the next tyrant would seize control. It is historically what happens at the end of revolutions. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of a good revolution and they have always been catalysts for change but they have never brought the reform and freedoms that the people who started them hoped and aimed for. 

There are far too many of us in todays world that are desperate for change - who can see so clearly the destruction of the planet, the exploitation of people and the widening inequality across the world. There are so many who are already fighting for change, making noise, refusing to be silent. But there are also many of us that are frozen.

Stuck in our average lives, looking around ourselves, not knowing what to do next. How to be. What to support. Where to go. What not to do. And yet - we are the last link. We are the difference.

If the ones fighting manage to crack the foundations of oppression, it will be the rest of us - the quiet, the uncertain, unremarkable many - who decide if the structure collapse or rebuilds itself. 

In the wellness and self help world I hear the phrase “No one is coming to save you”. And its true. No one is coming to save you from your life - and no one is coming to save us from ourselves.

There are leaders who are acting to inspire us and pave the way but no one can walk the way for us. Among the masses, I see too much apathy. Apathy in our lives, in our neighbourhoods, in our language. We roll our eyes at strangers. We scream at each other from our cars. We walk past those that need a hand and look away. 

We don’t need to be perfect—but we do need to wake up.We need to stop outsourcing the responsibility for a better world onto others. There are no others. The “others” are you. The “others” are me.

And the truth is… you and me? We don’t even trust each other.

We go home and complain to our partners that “people are idiots.” And sure, sometimes they are. But people are also all we’ve got.

I believe the reason we struggle to be kind and compassionate to others is because we were never shown how to be kind and compassionate to ourselves.

We live inside a system that makes so many of us miserable—and then teaches us to turn that misery inward, to see our sadness or fatigue or numbness as personal failure instead of collective harm.

I want to flip it.

I want us to start with ourselves—not in selfishness, but in self-recovery.

Peel away the layers that keep you from liking yourself, from helping yourself. Peel away the voices that tell you you’re not good enough, not strong enough, not qualified to care.

And when all that is gone—when you can see yourself clearly—what’s left isn’t the problem of you.

It’s the problem of the system.

And from there, we can begin.

 At its core, yes—this is a “heal the world with love” approach. But I think we’ve misunderstood what that means for a long time.

Love isn't soft. Love isn’t passive. Love isn’t some wishy-washy sentiment that floats above the real world.

Have you ever loved someone? I mean really tried to love someone? It is one of the hardest to do. It takes so much patience and understanding, it takes swallowing your pride. It takes sacrifice. Compromise. It takes courage - and not the kind that arrives in a flash of brilliance, but the kind that is built day by day, through discomfort and practice.

This path isn't about simply being nicer or more agreeable. It's about committing to a deeper, more courageous way of living. You'll face resistance—both from within and from the world around you. There will be moments when your efforts feel unreciprocated, when the weight of the world's indifference presses heavily upon you. When you will feel slapped in the face. But it's precisely in these moments that your commitment matters most.

By continuously unlearning ingrained patterns and learning to understand and support yourself, you build resilience. This personal transformation isn't just for your own sake; it's a vital contribution to a larger movement. When those on the front lines make breakthroughs against oppressive systems, they will need a prepared and conscious collective behind them. An army not of soldiers, but of emboldened and empowered individuals ready to nurture a cleaner, fairer Earth.