From BLM, I heard of James Baldwin. From the pandemic, I learnt Hannah Arenht. Both are writers. Baldwin left America for France because of racism in America. Arenht left Germany for America because of Nazism. Here, another name, Sophie Scholl, popped up.
“The paradox of education is precisely this - that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated.” - James Baldwin
“One has to live and think in the open and not in one’s own little shell, no matter how comfortably furnished it is.” — Hannah Arendt.
“The idiot is one who lives only in his own household and is concerned only with his own life and its necessities.” — Hannah Arendt.
“The real damage is done by those millions who want to ‘survive.’ The honest men who just want to be left in peace. Those who don’t want their little lives disturbed by anything bigger than themselves. Those with no sides and no causes. Those who won’t take measure of their own strength, for fear of antagonizing their own weakness. Those who don’t like to make waves — or enemies. Those for whom freedom, honour, truth, and principles are only literature. Those who live small, mate small, die small. It’s the reductionist approach to life: if you keep it small, you’ll keep it under control. If you don’t make any noise, the bogeyman won’t find you. But it’s all an illusion, because they die too, those people who roll up their spirits into tiny little balls so as to be safe. Safe?! From what? Life is always on the edge of death; narrow streets lead to the same place as wide avenues, and a little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch does. I choose my own way to burn.” ― Sophie Scholl
From what I gathered, each one’s life is limited by its own shell. The world is big, though I can’t see far beyond the skyline of my city. Each of us is living in our own dream that we may not know it consciously. As a society, it has its own dream and unconsciousness. I believe each of us should have our private lives and public lives as well.