One day, Lofty said to us one day "suspend your disbelief". The power in that phrase is unimaginable.

Our world today is invaded, in every aspect, by reality. Children want to be lawyers and bankers because they drive big cars, teens decide everyday that they will get that degree in engineering then become an artist and adults obsess over the latest Survivor or Idol. Hammed up reality. "Realistically, do you think you can actually do that?"

And so the broken body of hope is driven by skepticism into a grave situation by cynicism.

If what you dream of is realistic, then it can't really be a dream, can it? It's a reality that you desire. Which is well and good for the individual because it does inspire you to be more than what you already are, yet ensures that you cannot be disappointed by failure because by all calculations, it is within your ability to make that 'dream' come true. But the danger of this mentality is latent and much more potent because as we get better at setting our goals at the edge of our abilities and get more addicted to our own successes, we also get better at knowing what is beyond our own capabilities and those things, we abandon because realistically, that cannot happen. Some examples of these things that lay beyond our reach - eradicating poverty, instituting Human Rights and Freedom of Speech, saving Mother Earth - are only the tip of the iceberg. And once we categorise these things under the "non-Attainable" label, we are immediately incapacitated. Then, obviously, there is no will, and no way, that anyone will do anything to make things better. That's what they mean by "reality bites" - it takes a big chunk of heart out of you and leaves little else for worrying about issues bigger than yourself.

Still, looking at that big picture level, one might think "hey, its not such a big deal to me that I don't know that much about the aids epidemic. No one wants to have sex with me and I'm scared of needles." But can one really be insulated from cynicism and skepticism, from disbelief? How many times have you seen a stranger smiling at you on the street and your brows automatically furrow as you clutch your bag closer? How many times have you bet on the fighter who was statistically more likely to win instead of the fighter you really believe in? Does the reality of not following your heart, and disbelief of the good in other people make you happy? Sure, it saves you the possibility of getting mugged on the street but it also deprives you of the joy of a genuine smile, a connection with another human being.

I do not believe, for even a moment, that this stranglehold that skepticism or cynicism has on us is purely a result of social degradation. Much less that we are helpless to resist it. At some point in time, we, as individuals, decided to protect ourselves from disappointment and hurt at the expense of hope and love for ourselves and each other.

What good is it to protect an existence that is self-centered and has no faith in the good of humanity? That uses the limited abilities of the individual as an excuse to ignore the destruction of the World? It is time to suspend our disbelief and dare to hope again.