Once upon a time, the world was vast and silent. Suffering existed, of course—but it stayed far away, buffered by oceans, borders, and the limits of what we could see. Back then, ignorance was not only common—it was a kind of luxury.
We didn’t carry the weight of every war or famine. We weren’t haunted by the cries of children halfway across the globe. Our hearts belonged to what was near. But that world is gone.
Now, suffering arrives by the second. We watch bombs fall between sips of morning coffee. We scroll past famine between memes. The distance has collapsed—but our ability to bear witness has not expanded to match it.
I wasn’t there, and, thank God, I didn’t understand their story, so it didn’t affect my life.
