I am aware that this game does have certain problematic elements to it, and I do not defend those aspects. I enjoy the game despite those elements, not because of them. If you don't like the game because of those things, I fully support you. I find that the majority of the game has a good message, and interesting themes to explore.
In particular, a theme from the game, the Fog of Illusion, is one that resonates with me. I believe that most people don't want to accept the truth. The truth of the world around them, the truth of other people, and most of all, the truth about themselves.
Each of the main characters in the game must face a part of themselves that they didn't want to face, or even admit to having. I think that this is true for all of us. We have parts of ourselves that we don't like, and don't wish to admit to anyone. Yet, we must have the strength to face those aspects of who we are and seek to overcome them with our better selves.
We cannot grow into better people if we refuse to face the parts of ourselves that are less than great. Its not shameful for us to have those darker aspects to our being. We all have that darkness, those selfish urges, deep within our hearts. It is how we act, and what we do with those elements, that decides who we are as people. Yet, we cannot act with justice if we refuse to even admit to why we act as we do, or think the thoughts that we think.
More than that though, I do believe that most of society refuses to face what we are, and what we have become. Too many of us are willing to believe what we want to believe, rather than trying to understand the actual truth of a given situation. We condemn or condone without a true understanding, acting to preserve our constructed view of the world around us. We don't want the truth if it endangers our rose-colored view of our world.
The aim of the final villain of the game is actually to give people what they truly want, which is a world where facts no longer matter. This being wishes to make it so that people live in their own bubbles of reality, where what they want to be true is truth, and contradictory information is omitted. That being realized that people seek the comfort of lies over the harshness of truth, and wishes to take from people the ability to see that truth.
The thing is, facing the truth is hard. Admitting that you are flawed is hard, and admitting that the world is flawed is even harder. It really is easier to simply believe that things are good, and that the bad things are rare, and not worth your time or attention.
The main characters are forced to face these truths though, and find that they can no longer avert their eyes from the truth once they have been made aware of it. Even though most of the world around them still wants to pretend that things are good, they have been made to see that this is a comfortable fiction. Once they have faced their own darkness and become better people, the greater darkness of the world cries out to be challenged.
When the team goes to confront the final villain, the being challenges their goal, claiming that the party is defying the will of the masses by pursuing the truth. It explains that the people wish to live in a world of fog, blind to the truths around them. It challenges their right to pull back the veil on the world, for the people wish to have that truth veiled.
I say, just as the party did, that the will of the masses is wrong if this is what they truly desire. Even if that is the will of the people, what they want is wrong. Living a lie that harms others is unacceptable, even if it is painless.
Even if the whole world were to accept something evil and treat it as being good, those who see the truth have a duty to oppose the will of the world. That is, I believe, one of the core themes of every Persona game. A person, even if they are alone, has a duty to stand up for what is right and just, even if they stand against the whole world.
What does all of this mean? Well, it speaks to the importance of examining our own thoughts, feelings, and actions with the gaze of truth. We must be willing to admit to the truth of why we are the way we are, how we act, and who we have become. We must also have the courage to speak the truth when people are embracing lies. We must all be willing to fight for the truth, even when no one wants to know what that truth is.
Yes, that is difficult, but it is essential. If we refuse to accept the truth, and we live based on the lies we tell ourselves, then we have no hope of bettering ourselves. We grow because we accept our mistakes and learn from them. We become stronger because we overcome our weaknesses. If we refuse to do those things, we stagnate in our lies of perfection.
So, I ask you to step up and face your own truth. Accept who you are, learn from that, and better yourself accordingly. Only then will you have the tools of truth needed to face the world. One cannot effectively demand truth from the world when one is mired in lies of the self.
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