To the few who might come across this little diatribe of mine, let me say this. It is likely that you will not actually read this missive. It is long and requires critical thinking skills. It will touch upon subjects that you will likely feel strongly about and even has the potential of making you feel anger. It is not for you that I write this. I write this because it is necessary. If no one listens to this, nothing will change and we will continue to circle the drain that leads to the extinction of the human race. That is not my responsibility. What is my responsibility is that I say what my conscience calls upon me to say. If it resonates with you, so much the better. If it moves you to action, even better. That may yet not be enough, but at least I have tried.
Today, mankind numbers well over six billion, a number larger than the cumulative population prior to the twentieth century of our recorded history. We are naturally social beings, coming together in communities, states and nations for our mutual protection. We formulate governments, creating a class of specialists to handle the functions of those governments, from kings to parliaments and all of the civil servants needed for the myriad of tasks involved. We do this seeking to better our lives, provide for not only our mutual safety, but to improve conditions for all.
From enabling us to safely grow enough food for the entire community to providing roads, police and fire brigades, and making sure our water and food production is safe and secure, government has many responsibilities that are necessary and appropriate. Neglecting these functions hurts us all, especially those most vulnerable. As our understanding and technologies improve, there are more and more things that government needs to regulate in order to prevent the few from taking advantage of the many.
Yet there are sociopaths in every population who are convinced that they are more worthy than others and who will seek to take advantage of any rules or regulations that allow them to improve their lot, even at the expense of others. They see no need to consider others as they have no understanding of the concept of empathy. When they are allowed, or even encouraged, to do so by the very rules meant to protect us all, we fall into class systems wherein the majority is taken advantage of by the few.
Today, the people of the world are facing an existential threat. Each nation has it's own version of this. In the US, and now, much of the world, it is what is referred to as the Military Industrial Complex we were warned about by President Eisenhower in his farewell address. The many corporations that make up this complex exercise control over major portions of the world's economy and have become so powerful that no one is free of their influence, in one form or another.
They have, quite frankly, taken our desire for safety and freedom and turned it against us. This is NOT a right wing or left wing issue. Those are the fake divisions the actual rulers use to keep us fighting against each other and our own best interests, allowing them to continue to control and manipulate us without us discovering their machinations.
You might say that our form of government protects us from this, but you would be wrong. When bankers can destroy the lives of millions yet suffer no consequences, WE have lost the fight. When corporations can poison us with their waste and even the consumer products they sell us, with no consequences, WE have lost. When these corporations are treated as people with more rights than flesh and blood people, WE have lost.
As long as we remain complacent, WE lose. As long as we continue to pretend that we have control through our voting, WE lose. Unless we are willing to take a stand and make our votes actually mean something, WE lose. In order for democratic elections to make a difference, they have to be transparent and we have to have real choices. Today, we do NOT have those things.
We have to understand that the concept of government is NOT the enemy. We need government to do it's proper job. But we have become lazy, expecting the government to do all of these things with no oversight. We rely upon the good will of those we elect, even while they are paid for their votes by the corporations who subvert the law, bringing up bills designed by the robber barons who don't want to pay the expense of cleaning up their wastes, or providing for the safety of their workers and who's only responsibility is to their profits.
These corporations have researched human psychology and know how to use manipulative advertising to convince you to ignore your own best interest and behave as they want you to, spending money on things you don't need and fighting amongst yourselves over things that shouldn't matter. They know how to present things to keep you inflamed about your religion, your government, your sports team, your family. They manipulate you using fear, greed, sex and glamor, and you never notice it because your whole life is immersed in the ocean of their manipulative media. It isn't just advertising. It isn't just the wide variety of shows available to keep you sedated. It is also in your news feeds, your “social media”, and your political rhetoric. It is pervasive and it is deadly to your free will.
If you want rights of any kind, you MUST be willing to grant those same rights to ALL others, not just those who agree with you. If you want to restrict a right, you MUST restrict that right for ALL, not just those you disagree with. If you don't want murder or theft to be acceptable, you MUST make it unacceptable for EVERYONE. If you don't wish to allow bribery to determine how rules are made, you must stop it ANY time it happens, not just when it is people you don't agree with. If you don't want the police to barge into your house without reason, you cannot permit them to do it to ANYONE. If laws are to be for the benefit of ALL, they must apply to ALL, regardless of wealth or position.
As long as we allow certain people, or even government agencies, to get away with violations of our rights, privacy and freedoms, we are doomed to continued manipulation, control and slavery to those with the biggest bankrolls. When laws only apply to those who cannot afford lawyers to game the system, those laws mean nothing except more control.
Who can change the system as it is today?
Only YOU. If you have read this far, you must agree to some extent with what has been said. If you do, you must also realize that change can only come from individuals committed to real change and willing to band together with other like minded individuals to let the powers that control your lives know that their time is limited and that WE will not allow them to continue to jeopardize our lives and our freedoms. The price is high. We have to refuse to participate in their system, to whatever extent we can. It is the only way to lessen their grip until we can rid ourselves of their control altogether.
Much of the fake economy today is fueled by the requirement to ship things as far as possible, in order to add as much cost, both in fuel and in the number of middlemen involved, to the products. Don't be fooled by the “low prices” of a the biggest stores in your area. Their prices are only low until they are the only source for the products they sell. They put local businesses out of business. They and many companies like them, cost jobs in every locale they come to, in order to drive out competition. When you have no other choices, those prices will not stay low, but by then you will have nothing left to compare them to.
The more you have to struggle to make ends meet, the better for those who would control you and your life. The easier it is for them to make the rules and rake in the profits. The harder it is for you to get out of debt and have a chance at “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.
If you are not willing to fight against the corporate oligarchy, you deserve what you will get. If you continue to remain compliant to their demands, numbed by their bread and circuses (i.e., entertainment TV's lineup on any given day), then we will all suffer. I cannot fix it alone. You can't either. It will take a large majority of us to stand up and say “enough!”.
I am most likely pissing into the wind trying to find a venue to post this. But I will try. Good luck to us all.
Myrddnn