I don’t only oppose capitalism; I philosophically stand against what I call The Machine. I disagree with the System of Man that consists of flourishing through the exploitation of peers. I am inextricably bound to The Machine by the debt system it so cleverly uses to make slaves of us all. And I often despair that this sad state of things will remain forever, unchallenged by a People either too poor or forsaken to raise its voice or too pampered in a delusional bliss to see the truth.These days, however, something is giving me hope.
I was raised on the fat side of the hemisphere in a lower-middle-class family. I was processed by The Machine through the education system, just enough to deprive me of my innate creativity and to mold my thoughts into the mainstream. It took me years to shake that shit off and I’m not foolish enough to think I’ll ever be done reclaiming my own space. But I’m working on it.
What exactly put me in the path to free (-er) thinking, I’m not sure. I met some very interesting people who challenged my ideas. I searched for answers to questions clinging to the back of my mind since childhood. I traveled. I was blessed with insanely intelligent friends who taught me countless things. I followed leads, good and bad. I took a closer look at parts of human history. I was put in contact with books, magazines, documentaries.
Over the years, I learned to seek the truth behind mainstream news. I developed high criticism toward anything sounding like propaganda. I shut my TV off for good. I researched arguments both in favor and against the topics that interested me. I flipped my food habits around. I tried my best to favor tolerance over obtuseness. I avoid dogma.
As I was exploring my own path to free thinking, I tried to carry my new ideas around and share them in various conversations. And hit a solid wall. Outside of my close circle of friends, I found that personal opinions hardly seem to exist. All I hear is a rehash of “official versions”, phrases like “they said it on the news” or unsubstantiated claims from supposed science or statistics. Almost every time, I ended up being chalked off as a conspiracy theorist, asked why I was challenging things with my questions or downright told that my ideas were of no interest.
It brought me great despair to realize that the large mass of the majority (in all the meanings of the term) believes what it is told and passively contributes to the intolerable status quo we are stuck in while our environment rots, our resources are wasted and our brothers and sisters are left dying almost everywhere. I thought there was so much non-momentum for free thinking that the general population would never rise above the laughable wall of fog it is presented with.
But then, something I didn’t expect happened.
The greed and control struggles of the Powerful are starting to cave in on them. After years of plunder, rape and manipulation, it seems the Wealthy of this world are losing the ability to hide their shenanigans. And what’s best; you can see them almost every night on the evening news.
You don’t need to be a conspiracy theorist, a free thinker, an anarchist or someone-who-thinks-out-of-the-box anymore to be exposed to the dislocated mechanics of greed that run our world. Just open your TV.
I’m not sure what brought this new era. Is it really that the Powerful are picking fights against each other in public? Is it WikiLeaks? Did people start thinking for themselves and find their own information, leading to a clearer view of what’s happening for real? Did the media wake up? Did disgruntled people all over the place start sharing insider information on who pulls the cords, and how?
I don’t know, but the result is the same. Light is being shed daily on the level of corruption of the System. OUR governments. Not the ones that they sponsor in remote, foreign parts of the world, no. Right here. In the States. In Canada. The construction industry is being scrutinized, revealing horrors of frauds done against the public and its safety in the name of profit. Behind-the-scenes scheming on foreign policies and their application is blown wide open. Banks who were given unpronounceable amounts of public money make billions of private profit a year later. Links between organized crime and our governing structures are established, triggering resignations and public enquiries. Countries supposed to have received billions of dollars in reconstruction money are still crumbling in ruins. Secret documents admitting to organized torture, drug trafficking and state-sponsored assassinations are being revealed. And it looks like it’s only starting.
This is actually the first glimmer of hope I’ve had in some time. I am starting to hear people in everyday conversations say they have lost confidence in the System. I feel more bitterness and sarcasm coming from social observers. Gigantic countries are coming to the tribune asking difficult questions. Visible consequences in world climate are urging for change. There is a sharp rise in popular dissatisfaction all across the board. It seems there is a genuine risk that some countries, even among the so-called “industrialized world”, might go bankrupt. Governments have folded and fled their country following popular pressure. There are more calls from more credible places to stop the madness and start thinking otherwise. Ordinary people are defying the world banking system, using some of their personal money to finance micro-companies in other countries.
My enthusiasm is not on the rise because I’m magically thinking that somehow, some of all the bullshit is going to make sense or that eventually, everything will fall right back into place.
I’m regaining hope because I see the seeds of a revolution.
