It might be hard to hear this one BUT I’m going to say it anyway. The truth of the matter is WE are a crucial component of the very system we complain about. If you notice in most of my scribbles for this blog, I use the words “we” and “us” quite often to emphasize the point I am in this with you. My position is not one of standing on a podium, soapbox, stage, or mountain over you instructing you on how to live your life. The stance I’ve taken is one on the ground where I can listen to people and talk about everything this world can offer.
An “Agent Of The System” is someone who is a willing participant whose directives are to keep us “inline”, stop us from making mistakes, urge us to do the right thing, be quiet and mind our own business, warn us not to break the law, or limit the possibilities in our lives. When I say this to colleagues, they say they get images of police officers, politicians, and judges. Blame could never be placed on them for thinking of these positions, after all, I used to think the same thing. However, these are not the villains of this particular post.
We The People: It’s Us
You remember that line we give to a person we’ve been using (let’s be honest), “It’s not you, it’s me”. Then we go into this whole thing about how the timing isn’t right, circumstances are just not ideal, or you got a job offer on the sun. These are nice convenient excuses to smoothly provide an exit to a relationship we never wanted to be in. Well with respect to our currently world situation, it IS us. We are the reason schools, colleges, and universities have turned into cold-hearted businesses. We the people are the reason jobs are being shipped overseas. We are the reason prices for tuition are at an all-time high. Finally, we are the reason we are not rich.
Why are we the reason? We allow it. There is a very sophisticated word I’m looking for to describe how we act with the most important aspects of our lives. Concerned citizens…ummm, no…helpless bystanders…that’s not it…ummmm…oh yes…passive p*ssies! I don’t say that to offend anyone and if you are…so what. Being nice about our lives is what got us here in the first place. I’m by no means a political figure, so if you want someone to lie to you, turn on CNN. Some of the “big wigs” act as if they listen (even take notes), then igonore the sh** out of us.
So my tongue will not be held. We’ve all heard the story of the beautiful, young girl who was once vibrant, out-going, and alive but now only a worn-out, mumbling former version of herself because, now, her boyfriend beats her. She can leave any time she wants. Her family is more than willing to help, they’ll even sneak her out in the middle of the night. Sometimes, they do! They do all this hard work, hide her where-a-bouts, and keep her out of conversation until she’s “got it together”. Then one day, she can’t be found. For an entire week, she disappeared. Was she abducted by the monster? Not at all. She went back of her own free will.
Bringing In We The People
Now all you have to do is substitute the characters. We the people are the needy chic with no options because they’ve been taken away, and the monster is the government and society. Some of us don’t even realize we are protecting the system, but we are. It seems harmless to. We mindlessly tell kids to “stay in school”, “If you don’t get those grades up, life is going to be hard”, “What are you going to do with your life if you don’t get a job”, “Our entire family went to college. Are you going to be the only one who didn’t?”, or maybe the reverse, “You could have been the first one in the family to graduate college”. I’ve heard all of these, and at the time, it made me feel as though no other alternatives existed to the traditional go-to-school-get-good-grades-get-a-good-job-work-until-retirement method. I wanted to vomit!
In an attempt to get people to think, I don’t answer questions for them. It’s leads to a lazy mind. Alternatively, I ask questions as to future plans, goal-oriented tasks, and where their zest for life resides. The system is not intentionally designed to hurt us, but some corrupt players in the game are…in the name of money. It’s easy to stab each other in the back for a little extra coin, however, now I resist. My hope is that this rubs off on a few people. Suppress the want to squeeze every last resource out of your fellow man. Instead, help him if you have the time, money, and resources. It’s not really money we want out of this life, but the good feelings money can provide. Bless someone else with those feelings and watch yours expand.
Professor X