Project Vision 21

Every year around this time, the (almost) eternal debate resurfaces about whether or not Halloween should be celebrated. Personally, I’m not afraid of children who, once a year, dress up as monsters—but I am terrified by the monsters who, day after day, disguise themselves as humans with the sole purpose of imposing their monstrosity on humankind.

All of human history, from its beginnings to the present, is filled with those monsters disguised as human creatures who seek only what they want and, in doing so, despise and trample anyone they perceive as a rival or an obstacle.

After going out to collect their Halloween candy, children return home and take off their costumes and masks. But the monsters disguised as humans never remove theirs. In fact, they couldn’t do so—because if they did, their true essence and personality would be unmasked.

That’s why, while many people use Halloween (or any other event on any other day of the year) to promote their opinions and dogmas and to proclaim themselves better than “the others” for not participating in a certain celebration, the monsters disguised as humans continue with their monstrosities, delighting in the superficiality of today’s human experience.

Those monsters, whether born that way or made that way, are everywhere, from sports and politics to science and education. Many of them are undetectable. Sometimes they operate across vast territories and with countless resources. Other times, they act in small spaces—a family, a small business, or a congregation—but that doesn’t make them any less monstrous.

But let’s be honest: any one of us can, at any moment, become that monster disguised as a human. Sometimes an insignificant event (a late payment, a delayed flight) awakens our inner monstrosity. Other times, something more significant—a tragedy—turns us into true monsters.

In fact, since the modern descendants of Victor Frankenstein now possess far more technology than the arrogant doctor had 200 years ago, we not only allow pseudo-human monsters to live among us—we are also creating new ones, and in doing so, transforming our society into a monstrous one.

Obviously, these small observations and complaints will do little or nothing to unmask the monsters disguised as humans or to reverse humanity’s growing “monsterization.” But perhaps the fact that these words serve no practical purpose reveals their true value—because not everything should be judged by its usefulness.

In that context, each of us should take responsibility for our role in creating countless monsters—human or otherwise—by having disconnected from others, from ourselves, from the universe, and from the transcendent realm (however one may understand it). Perhaps we are not as advanced as we believe—or claim—to be.

Monsters don’t come out only one day a year.