In a world that appears increasingly modern and progressive, injustice continues to find new ways to survive — from workplaces to the endless scroll of our digital screens. What is unsettling is not only the existence of inequality itself, but how many forms of unfairness have gradually become normalized.

Every year, April and May bring us two important commemorative days: Kartini Day and International Workers’ Day. Both are recognized nationally, yet neither is truly a celebration. Instead, they function more like quiet pauses in the middle of ordinary life — reminders that many freedoms we experience today were built upon people who once dared to ask:

“Why should we simply accept things as they are?”

Raden Ajeng Kartini lived during a period when women’s access to education was severely restricted. Meanwhile, laborers in the early twentieth century struggled under exhausting working hours and exploitative wages. Both existed within systems that carefully disguised injustice as something natural and unquestionable.

Yet within that culture of acceptance, some individuals chose not to remain silent.

When the Abnormal Becomes Ordinary

Today, the forms of injustice may look different.

The struggle is no longer solely about educational access or openly inhumane labor conditions. Yet the underlying pattern remains strikingly similar. Many unhealthy realities are now accepted as normal parts of life.

Working until mental exhaustion is often framed as dedication. Salaries that barely sustain a decent life are described as tests of resilience. Burnout becomes a badge of honor rather than a warning sign.

Psychology offers a concept that helps explain this phenomenon: learned helplessness, introduced by psychologist Martin Seligman.

Seligman found that when living beings repeatedly experience situations where suffering feels unavoidable, they may eventually stop trying to escape — even when opportunities for change later appear. Over time, they no longer believe that alternatives exist.

But helplessness is not the only possible response.

Amid resignation and passive acceptance, there is always the possibility of critical awareness — the courage to continue questioning and seeing reality clearly.

Critical Consciousness: The Courage to Question What Is Considered “Normal”

The concept of critical consciousness was popularized by Brazilian educator Paulo Freire in his influential book Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

Freire argued that people must learn to recognize injustice within social structures instead of automatically accepting inherited systems as truth.

This spirit of questioning is not new.

Kartini embodied it more than a century ago. She refused to accept “this is simply the fate of Javanese women” as an unquestionable destiny. Through letters, reflection, and intellectual courage, she created sparks of transformation from the limited space available to her.

The same spirit appeared among early labor movements. Workers began realizing that hard work should not require the sacrifice of dignity and humanity. They questioned the systems surrounding them and gradually built collective awareness capable of creating social change.

Awareness Alone Is Not Enough

Yet awareness, by itself, is insufficient.

This is where the idea of existential responsibility becomes important — a perspective rooted in existential psychology which emphasizes that even in imperfect circumstances, individuals remain responsible for the choices they make.

Kartini understood this deeply.

Despite living within strict limitations, she still chose to write, speak, and think beyond the boundaries imposed upon her, even though she may never have witnessed the full impact of her efforts during her lifetime.

Awareness and responsibility also require psychological strength. Social change is emotionally demanding, especially when progress feels slow and uncertain.

This is why the concept of Psychological Capital becomes relevant. Developed by Fred Luthans and his colleagues, Psychological Capital refers to an individual’s positive psychological resources, including:

hope,
self-efficacy,
resilience,
and optimism.

Importantly, Psychological Capital is not merely the ability to endure suffering passively. It is the capacity to remain conscious, purposeful, and hopeful even while facing imperfect realities.

It is the belief that some space for change always exists — even if small, gradual, and difficult.

The Quiet Courage That Shapes History

Kartini did not transform society overnight.

Neither did the unnamed workers whose struggles shaped labor rights across generations.

They lived inside systems that constrained them, yet they chose to question those systems instead of surrendering completely to them.

History repeatedly shows that injustice rarely disappears on its own. More often, it simply changes appearance, language, and methods. Sometimes inequality survives because people become comfortable as long as they themselves remain unaffected:

“As long as I am not the one suffering, why should I care?”

A mindset that seems to persist across generations.

Perhaps in a world like this, simple forms of courage matter more than we realize: maintaining awareness, protecting one’s values, and consciously choosing even small actions aligned with humanity.

A more just world is not built solely through dramatic revolutions.

Sometimes, it is built through ordinary people who continue choosing to stay aware, to stay human, and to keep acting — even quietly.

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Written by Ruth N. Susanti
Founder of PhiliaTalks
Lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Muria Kudus