The Red Pill of Humility
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Updated at 9:00 a.m. ET on October 9, 2023
The 1999 film The Matrix is famous for coining the metaphor of the “red pill.” In the imaginary world of the movie, people live largely in a state of illusion, experiencing a completely managed simulation of real life that keeps them passive. The protagonist, Neo (played by Keanu Reeves), is offered the choice by the rebel leader Morpheus of staying in the simulation by taking a blue pill or breaking into reality by taking a red pill. This is not an easy decision: choose reality, with its difficult truths, or live in the numb oblivion of the Matrix?
The “red pill” entered the lexicon as a choice we can make in life. Lately, this sometimes refers to political radicalization, but since before
