It is easy to look at this and think in big, dramatic terms about collapse, decline, or the end of things. But what does that kind of looking actually do to us? It pulls our attention away from where we have influence. It keeps our nervous systems braced for a future we cannot control. Over time, that drains the energy we would need to stay steady, connected, and effective right here, where our actions actually matter.

When violence erupts, it reveals something larger than the act itself. We see the event, but beneath it are currents shaping the whole of our shared life: people swept into binary outrage, voices using divisive language or failing to stand for love, cruelty disguised as righteousness, and a collapse of discernment so complete that even those dedicated to truth are caught in its undertow.

There’s a kind of reactivity that doesn’t look like reactivity. It looks like urgency. Like caring. Like trying to do the right thing, ask the right question, respond well to the moment. But under that scramble, something else is driving. It’s not presence. It’s not clarity. It’s not rooted choice. It’s False Obedience.