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by
Chautauqua
The process is called 'becoming aware,'
and it heralds one's approaching entrance into adult society, and
the Matrix. Just as we eventually had to forgive and
forget childhood lies such as Santa, and the tooth fairy; every day
in adult society we are silently expected to act as if society is
everything it isn't.
When mom was just too exasperated to continue berating me she rested her case with the all-American classic,
Actually I was rather looking forward to that particular confrontation on the merits of right and wrong.
Dad was well employed by a national corporation as a fleet representative; meaning that he sold all manner of heavy trucks and equipment to city and state governments across a six state region. Dad was on the road a lot, sometimes three weeks of every month; and in that week he was home he and Jack Daniels would go on for hours about how filthy dirty and corrupt his industry was.
Payoffs, kickbacks, bribes, sometimes
even intimidation; not to mention the wild drunken weekend parties
field reps were expected to host for their prospective clients.
Yeah, great role model for integrity!
Whether it's price gouging on the goods you sell, or selling wars of conquest with a pack of transparent lies; corruption has not only assimilated human culture, it has indeed become the very foundation on which all else is built.
The system isn't broken, it was intentionally designed to function as it does. The fix is in, you really can't fight city hall; and you as a citizen cannot sue the government of the united states, unless it grants you permission to do so.
And still, we just silently accept this dystopian nightmare generation after generation.
We're not being so complacent because we
think it will all some day go away, no... we're mostly just holding
out long enough to get our own share of the pie, because everyone
knows that the merits of fair play are for fools.
This is the mindset that undermines the illusion at every level.
Those are real, tangible dollars - and it's so blessed easy! Whether on the street corner, or in the executive boardrooms high above; the promise of quick riches and a shortcut to success is all the temptation most people need to forsake any claim on integrity, and follow the siren song of corruption.
Some people resist the temptation
longer; until some unexpected emergency arrives along with the
opportunity, and their "little voice" inside is telling them that
everyone else is doing it so why not?
Why not cook the books a little, or hide
assets, or push thru a deal that turns your stomach - if it's the
difference of whether your family eats or not, or even has a home?
The very pervasiveness of corruption constantly seeks to suck in all
within reach just like a black hole.
We never actually see these folks though, being as the system routes them to the psychiatric ward straight away. They're still chasing after Michael Moore. Along with you can't fight city hall, we hear other mantras of conformity such as Don't rock the boat, and of course the old standard, Go along to get along.
Standard programming for the masses from the great shining lie. Subconsciously we use these mantras to ease our conscience each time we are tempted and tainted by corruption. We know that lying is wrong and that we should never do it; yet the average person cannot get thru the week without at least a couple of little white lies tossed into the mix for whatever motivation.
When our politicians and corporations
are never held accountable for the world class lying they do every
day the average person has a hard time drawing the line. It has
become part of our society to lie and deceive: so much so in fact
that at any given time the average person is just two decisions away
from benefiting from corruption.
Mozi (470 BC - 391 BC) was a Chinese philosopher during the hundred years school of thought period, in the era of warring states. Founding the school of Mohism, Mozi fought against corruption and for Humanism and freedom of the individual. He emphasized self-reflection and authenticity rather than obedience to ritual and dogma.
Lamentably Mozi and his teachings did
not survive the burning of books and burying of scholars when the
legalist Qin dynasty came to power.
The man who started the gold rush was a fellow named Sam Brannon, who was the consummate entrepreneur of his day.
Before spreading the word about the discovery of gold in California, Sam Brannon arrived in the camp that would become San Francisco and set up a mercantile hardware store specializing in the tools needed for gold digging and panning.
Brannon built a monopoly, ensuring his
was the only store where miners could get supplies. He would even
row out to meet arriving ships; and if the cargo contained mining
supplies he'd purchase the entire lot for himself. In time of course
his greed grew even more, so he began expanding his business
holdings until he owned every major business in the San Francisco of
1849.
Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely!!
Take Monsanto for example; if GMO's are healthy and harmless as they claim, then,
If they gave prizes for corruption, without a doubt the Veterans Administration in Arizona would be near the top of the list for their recently discovered habit of keeping two sets of waiting lists for those needing medical help.
They had the original waiting list of
Vets, backlogged many months waiting for help, which was
embarrassing for sheer incompetence alone - then they had the
"magic" waiting list to show publicly that they were seeing sick and
dying Veterans in a timely manner!
We all know this, but we also know we're
powerless to stop it (as individuals), and that corruption tends to
fight very dirty when called out, so we remain, the silent majority
- keeping our heads low and just trying to have as good a life as
possible under the prevailing conditions. That's a little like
pitching camp on quicksand. You might be alright for a while but
sooner or later it's going to suck you in, then it's too late.
Case in point: India and the Gulabi - "The Pink Gang."
In a society where women are considered to be inferior to men the crime of rape is a daily common place event in many areas.
This has been the status quo, so there is literally zero recognition by police and government officials. Those who seek justice are ignored because those in power consider rape as a privilege; not a crime.
Outrage and frustration brought the local women together as a street level political action committee they named Gulabi, The Pink Gang.
With their membership growing
astronomically these women take to the streets to protect women and
persecute rapists; and they are becoming a growing social force in
India.
Hogtied by corruption and guilt, the government of Nigeria is moving at truly glacial speeds to find and free these 200 girls, as all their families can do is plead for their children to be returned.
Of course they won't be returned because they weren't taken for ransom but rather retail. Sad to say that buying and selling human beings still exists in 2014 - even sadder to realize how huge that marketplace really is.
Money that big is nothing but motive with a universal adapter on it.
It's a stretch I know, but anything seems better than admitting that greed and corruption are part of basic human nature.
We're always so good at obscuring the
traits of humanity we find distasteful.
A big waste of time really; because first of all when you call it out - corruption fights nasty, and if you try too hard to awaken your slumbering friends you'll soon be about as popular as a snake in a sleeping bag.
Bad way to wake up, so it's a lose/lose
kind of situation all around.
Those who feel so superior also usually
feel exempt from having to achieve great things in the traditional
way of working hard. Being so obviously special negates the need to
play by "fools rules" anyway, so why not jump to the head of the
line any way you can? Maybe we're all mad here!
Don't expect it to change, it never will.
If we are still looking for some kind of salvation it might help to remember two things:
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