How Do You Breathe in a Dead City?
How Do You Breathe in a Dead City?
Introduction
“I returned to my homeland after seventeen years abroad, not just with a suitcase, but with a soul shaped by a different world.” I carried within me the belief that simplicity is a virtue, honesty a strength, and kindness the most human language. But what I found was not a homecoming—it was a collapse. I discovered a society where conscience had died long before the economy did. The deepest shock, however, was not the corruption or the poverty—it was the contempt for goodness itself.
“How did kindness become a flaw? How did humility become a target of mockery?” This is not an article of self-defense. It is a search for the root of this arrogance, a philosophical and spiritual attempt to answer a haunting question: What if the one you look down upon today is greater than you in the eyes of the Eternal?
1. Simplicity Became a Crime
In Scandinavia, where trust is the foundation of all relationships, I learned that gentleness and openness are the most human ways to connect. I spoke softly, showed my vulnerability without shame, believing that honesty is stronger than armor. But upon my return, the faces I hoped would greet me with warmth met me with looks of disdain. “Simplicity was seen as naivety, and transparency as foolishness.” The scales had completely tipped. Cunning became intelligence, exploitation became savvy, and those who refused to wear the mask of cruelty were excluded from the game entirely.
What haunts me most is that this is not just a phenomenon in the streets—it is inside families, inside the most intimate relationships. A mother might despise her son for being “too kind.” A father might scorn his child for not knowing how to “play the game.” This is the depth of the catastrophe: we live in a world where goodness has become strange, and cruelty has become normal.
2. Honesty Became a Weakness
In Scandinavia, I learned to be transparent—to say what I mean, to hide nothing, to be the same person in every room. “Honesty is the shortest path to trust,” and people who wear multiple masks are avoided. But upon my return, I discovered that transparency is treated as a weakness to be exploited, and vulnerability is seen as an open invitation for others to walk over you.
Why is the honest person punished here? Because they break the first rule of survival: never show your real self. In a culture of performance and masks, anyone who removes their mask is seen as a fool or socially disabled. The most painful part is that this contempt often comes from people who have no real superiority—not in wealth, not in intelligence, and not in morality. But they own a false confidence and a dangerous audacity. They despise your simplicity to feel better about their own complexity.
3. The Good in a Sick Society
“The kind-hearted person has no middle ground in a sick society.” They are trapped in an existential siege. Either they play the game of cruelty and become a hypocrite, or they stand firm in their kindness and are labeled a fool or a saint to be mocked. There is no room for a person who is simply, naturally good.
This explains why so many hide their true goodness behind masks of coldness. They laugh at cruel jokes about the vulnerable to avoid being targeted themselves. They suppress their tears to avoid being seen as weak. This is the inner contempt that people practice on themselves before anyone else does. We are not just living in a society that despises kindness—we are living in an environment that forces its members to kill what is most beautiful in themselves out of fear of mockery.
4. Blind Hearts
“The arrogant cannot see the beauty of a gentle, humble soul.” Those who despise others are not strong—they are blind at heart. They do not see the essence, only the shell. They look at clothes, not at the soul. At money, not at generosity. At status, not at character.
The tragedy is that the blind often do not know they are blind. The ignorant do not know their ignorance—and that is the height of ignorance. The proud think they are perceptive because they quickly see the “flaws” of others, but they fail to see the greatest flaw of all: their own pride, which blinds them to any goodness in anyone else. They judge the world through a tiny hole and imagine they see everything.
5. The Doctrine of the Eternal Soul
Our faith teaches us that the human being is immortal. We are not mere flesh and bones—we are spirit and image of the Creator. This earthly body is merely a passing phase, a temporary veil that hides an eternal reality. But materialists—and there are many, even among those who call themselves believers—live as if this life is the end. They measure a person’s value by what they own, by their power, by their image.
Those who live by this limited earthly view can only despise the simple, the poor, and the weak. Their physical eyes see only dust. They cannot see the divine image behind the tired face. This dust-focused mindset is the root of all contempt because it strips the human being of their eternal dignity and reduces them to a fleeting moment.
6. The Glorified Body
The Scriptures teach us that on the last day, we will rise with glorified, luminous bodies—no longer earthly or material. We will carry the glory of God in our very being. The body you despise today—because it is simple, weak, poor, or suffering—will be transformed and shine brighter than the sun. “Your limited, material eyes cannot see this light now, but it is there.”
Think deeply about this: You might be sitting with someone who cannot afford a meal today, yet they may be among the highest in paradise. You might pass by someone who cannot read or write, yet they may be among the wise in the Kingdom. This possibility alone—no, this certainty in faith—should humble you, and make you bow your head in reverence before every human being, no matter how small or broken they may appear.
7. Despised Today, Exalted Tomorrow
The ironic truth is that the kind and gentle people who are despised on earth are often the closest to God. Jesus never said, “Blessed are the powerful.” He said: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Humility is not weakness—it is the strength of a different kind: the power to control oneself, to forgive, to choose peace in a world obsessed with vengeance.
Kind people are not as weak as the arrogant assume. Their strength lies in their ability to love despite pain, to give despite greed, to forgive despite betrayal. This is a strength the proud can never possess, because they are slaves to their own ego. Meanwhile, those who make cruelty their banner may find themselves at the very bottom, while those they mocked receive crowns of glory. This is the clear teaching of the Gospel: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
8. Christ Was Despised and Killed
Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory, came into this world not in royal pride, but in gentleness and humility. He was born in a manger, worked as a carpenter, owned nothing, and commanded no armies. “Christ Himself was humble—and they despised and killed Him.” What did our arrogant world do to Him? It despised Him, mocked Him, and crucified Him between two criminals.
Those who despise the kind and mock the humble are, without knowing it, walking in the footsteps of those who crucified Christ. Not in body, but in spirit. This is the deepest form of arrogance: to look at someone who reflects the image of Christ in their humility, and to mock that image. Woe to those who do this, for they do not know what they are doing.
9. The Image of God
Human dignity does not come from achievements, money, or power. These all fade away. It comes from a higher, eternal truth: we are God’s creation, carrying His breath within us. The image of God is imprinted deep within every soul, like a coal buried under ash, never extinguished.
To despise a person simply because they appear simple is to despise God’s creation—and thus to despise the Creator Himself. This is the root of all sin. It is the inflation of the ego, the arrogance that makes a human being believe they are above others, while in truth they are no greater than dust.
10. Contempt Exposes Ignorance
“Ignorance of the eternal destiny is the source of all contempt.” Those who despise the kind do not realize that the simple person they walk past might be a beloved friend of God. They do not know that their hidden tears may outweigh all the deeds of the proud. They do not know that their humility may raise them to heights no king can imagine.
If the arrogant knew what awaits the humble in glory, they would wish to be in their place. But their hearts are sealed. They think they see everything, yet they see only a shadow. This hidden tragedy is the cause of every contempt—and also the cause of the arrogant’s misery, for they cut themselves off from the love of the pure-hearted.
11. Glorifying Cruelty, Despising Simplicity
“This glorification of cruelty is the result of losing faith.” Our society has begun to glorify cruelty as a virtue and cunning as a form of intelligence. The slogans are: “Only the strong survive,” “If you don’t eat, you’ll be eaten.” In this culture, the simple and the good are seen as strange, foreign, and weak.
This glorification of cruelty is a natural result of losing faith in God and the afterlife. Those who do not believe in accountability find no reason to be good in a world that does not reward goodness. But this philosophy does not produce heroes. It produces monsters that devour themselves from the inside, celebrating a momentary glory that vanishes like a mirage.
12. Do Not Despise Anyone
“Do not despise any human being.” This is not a romantic sentiment—it is an existential truth. You do not know who that person truly is in the eyes of God. The simple person you pass by in arrogance may one day intercede for you. Their hidden blessing may be the reason for your forgiveness. Their humility may be what lifts you in the Kingdom, because you once treated them with kindness.
Contempt for others is not just a social sin—it is a spiritual one. It is a denial of the dignity of God’s creation. It is ignorance of a future glory unseen by mortal eyes. If you want wisdom, be humble. If you want greatness, serve. If you want respect, honor every human being—even the weakest. Because the weak may be closer to God than all the arrogant ones combined.
Recommendations
1. Before you despise anyone, remember that you do not know their true essence. You may see their outer shell, but their hidden garment may be woven from light.
2. Treat every person you meet as though they might be a saint. It costs nothing to show respect, but it may cost everything to despise a saint.
3. Never confuse kindness with weakness. Kindness may be stronger than a thousand swords because it builds, it does not destroy.
4. Ask yourself every night: Did I despise anyone today? This one question can change your behavior entirely.
5. If you encounter simplicity, do not meet it with complexity. The simple are the greatest teachers of life, for they see with their hearts what the complex cannot see with their minds.
6. Redefine success. True success is not in having power over others, but in being close to God.
7. Be the change you wish to see. Do not wait for the world to become kind—become kind yourself.
Conclusion
I returned to my homeland and found that simplicity had become a crime. I was shocked, I wept in silence, and I picked up my pen. This article is a defense of every kind, gentle, and transparent soul that carries the image of God—and is met with contempt by the world. “The arrogant will wish they had been simpler.”
They will wish they had smiled at those they ignored, embraced instead of pushed away. Do not let regret catch you off guard. Start today. Respect every human. Honor simplicity. Bow to the humble. For they, in the highest realms, hold a place you cannot reach with your pride.
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