March/2024 New Slaves for the New Global Economy Part 3. Playing the Game
It seems like America
has become not only the paper processing agent of the world, but
it has also changed its role from producers to consumers of goods and
services. It’s become the mecca for many migrants to come, make their
nest, gather their eggs, and return home to fulfill a dream. In the process
they, like everyone else, work round the clock, day after day, in a numbing state
of automated activity from dawn to dusk. During that time, people submit
their identity and conform to roles necessary for assuring personal survival:
the paycheck! That ticket which, after the bills (e.g. rent,
utilities, services, and groceries), might offer opportunities for some
leisurely escapades. Thus, the need for multiple breadwinners, with multiple jobs,
to sustain a single household. Meanwhile, their children are often left to fend
for themselves either in the streets or stuck in the often seductive and
violent world of virtual reality. Need you wonder why the young are in the news
- why unchecked curiosity often leads to
rebellious deviance?
To many, It's
a mad world. Things are happening fast! Demands are coming from all directions
and the threat of becoming an outcast is constant. The fear of being left alone
and obsolete is real and it’s easier to become an ostrich; just stick
your head in the sand and leave the rest of you up for grabs – Ain’t that a
swift kick in the ###. Under such circumstances, prolonged feelings of
powerlessness and helplessness grow and give birth to feelings of neurosis;
depression, anxiety, panic attacks and more.
Thus, the
system knows the automaton needs occasional tweaking and lubrication; it
(you) needs to experience some sense of freedom and control. Thus, enters
government endorsed and supported Hedonism; the simple effort to live
life in the most pleasurable way possible. It’s the pursuit of sensual self-indulgence in
ways that tries to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Just prioritize pleasure
in one's lifestyle, thoughts, or actions and let Viva La Vida Loca!
Top on the list of immediate
gratifications is Consumerism: when you feel ill, stuck, whatever – just
shop! Shop! Shop! And when necessary, just Charge It! Alas you become a
slave to the next paycheck. But do Party when you’re a bit stressed and
in need of company. By all means, feel free to spice your life with vises
of all sorts: Buzz it all out and get loose with a drink and a touch of coke,
dope, smoke, or some new exotic trick in a pill. Just Chill! After all, you can
always get on the couch and legally medicate with your neighborhood pill
pusher/psychiatrist and brain twister/psychologist. But beware! When
all else fails there are labels to assign and justify institutionalization;
face it! Hospitals and prisons make good business.
And so, with good reason, the
system is flexible: To survive the alienating effects of constant shifts in
socio-economic compartmentalization and sustain sufficient cognitive dissonance
(a split between one’s internal values and external reality), it expands to
accommodate and contracts to motivate the new slave, the automaton. Point! Capitalism
needs, and sustains, a certain level of Neurosis, narcissism, deviance, and
addiction. Until the next issue, consider the movie “Wolf of Wall Street” where
one is allowed, based on affordability, to indulge one’s insatiable hunger for pleasurable
people, places, and things. Meanwhile, let’s medicate to animate the
automaton party.
Addiction
is an outward reaction
To
a deep down hidden affliction longing for attention
Where
often left unmentioned …
The
many stains of hurts and pains
Upon
a heart no longer able to self sustain,
Upon
a soul long left out in the cold and dark
Where
thoughts now travel round and round
In
endless wonder full of blunder!
Where
did it all go wrong ... now gone
The
childlike manner full of laughter,
The
teen like strut of bob and weave
The
grown up roles of things once meant to be achieved …
Now
nothing but a dream
No
person place or thing to bring appease
An
inner voice crying out with unanswered pleas
To
be embraced not chased away and placed
Somewhere
so far from sight and mind
Where
sun no longer warms or shines,
Where
nothing else resides but those alike
Like
walking ATM’s to press – dispense – pay checks
For
services that seem to make no sense or difference.
Cause
just beyond the door still waits
An
outward reaction with no direction
A
deep down hidden affliction still longing for attention
Where
still ignored and unmentioned …
The
many stains of hurts and pains
Upon
a heart no longer able to sustain,
Upon
a soul still left out in the cold and dark
With
haunting thoughts that simply just won’t cease to bring
An
endless wonder still in blunder just a little longer …
No
wonder
This
revolving door I’ve seen so many times before
Where
once again another ATM recharged
To
press - dispense – pay checks
For
services that seem to make no sense or difference
Cause
just beyond right here and now
An
addiction for attention still left unmentioned
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