QUESTION - Why are WE ‘awake?’

I look at the majority of posters here at this site at the same time I look inward. Why is it that WE are ‘awake?’ What is it about us, all so seemingly different, that allows us to see through the charade and question the status quo? Do we have some similar personality traits? It’s not intelligence... we run the spectrum here, and I have friends and acquaintances on the ‘other’ side who I would otherwise regard as extremely intelligent.

I’ve heard here and other places before how we’ve become a society that is living in completely different, but parallel ‘realities.’ Not in any sort of metaphysical or multi-dimensional sense, but in how we perceive and interpret the world around us. When I struggle with how some people can be so blind and foolish sometimes, I can totally understand this split reality description.

The one single thing I’ve been able to key in on, that really encompasses almost ALL of it is trust. Trust in government, trust in institutions, trust in authority. It seems that if you really trust your government and believe they have your best interests (or the best interests of humanity) at heart, then you are most likely liberal and most likely a heavy consumer of, and believer in, the mainstream media. You will also be the first to completely and fully shed your fundamental convictions, beliefs, and values because ‘they’ told you that you’re ‘wrong.’

Could that be it, or is there more here? Don’t know...I guess I’d like to see what else WE have in common here as to maybe understand more about myself.