My friends, we have failed. We did not fail all at once. It happened in steps, in excuses, in the quiet turning away. When they came for the thinkers and the artists, we said, “That is not my fight.” When corruption spread through our institutions, we told ourselves, “That is how the world works.” When the press became a mouthpiece for the powerful, when enemies were named and hunted—not for their crimes, but for their defiance—we whispered, “At least it is not me.” Look around. We have families torn apart, neighbors driven into silence, and a people who fear speaking the truth—even to each other. There are still those among us who sit in comfort while their friends and families suffer. Those who believe that silence is a shield. That as long as they do not speak, as long as they do not resist, the storm will pass them by. But the storm does not pass. It grows. So I ask you—do you feel safe speaking your mind? Do you trust those in power to act in your interest? Do you believe tomorrow will be better than today? Do you feel free to connect? If the answer is no, then know this: a society that abandons its defenders of truth is a society marching toward its own demise. History does not look kindly upon those who stayed silent. Nor does it favor those who believed that obedience would protect them. The longer we wait, the fewer of us will remain to stand. But there is a way forward. We can choose to question. We can choose to remember. We can choose to resist. In small acts, in whispered truths, in refusing to accept lies as reality. They thrive on our fear. So let us give them something else—our defiance.