We Talk Friday

(WTF)

This is a semi-regular series that I will run on Fridays to hold discussions on a current topic from the week gone. The aim is to keep them light and conversational, though some might be heavier - regardless of the content topic itself though, just have some fun engaging and discussing with whoever happens to put in the effort in the comments section below.

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We Talk Friday Ep. 16: Independence Flay

Flay

/fleɪ/
verb
strip the skin off (a corpse or carcass).

For anyone that thinks the US is the greatest country on earth because it has the largest economy and spends the most on its military, this is the reality as to why.

Debt.

It is the only reason.

Everything is financed on debt and an assumption that as long as the military is large enough, the debt collectors will be held at bay. And, the world buys into it, because they want some of that inflation money too. They want access to the largest market in the world so they can capture some of that printed inflation for themselves, and put it into the pockets of their zero-point-one-percenters.

And while the promise was to cut government spending, the latest budget is just going to increase that spending more. And once again, all of that inflationary goodness, is going to fall into the hands of the elite - you know, the ones who live in the drained swamp.

But there is an interesting conflict here, because today is independence day in the "land of the free", so Americans are celebrating their freedom and power, draped in red, white and blue flags. They are celebrating how they vanquished their foes, but most don't actually think that much about what independence means, especially when it comes to economic independence.

Debt Slavery.

Pawn in the system.

Or is it peon in the system?

Peonage, also called debt slavery or debt servitude, is a system where an employer compels a worker to pay off a debt with work.

"Peon" and "pawn" are related, both stemming from the Latin word "pes" meaning "foot." In chess, "pawn" refers to the weakest piece, often used to signify someone manipulated. "Peon" historically meant foot soldier, but evolved to denote a low-status laborer, often exploited. While both words relate to low status and being used by others, "pawn" emphasizes manipulation, while "peon" highlights low social standing and menial work.

Both!

Bring those jobs back to Make America Great Again, because those exploited workers are needed to pay off the debt the government is continually racking up and expanding, to line the pockets of their friends and family.

Manipulated and Exploited.

But let's face it, the average person, whether American or from anywhere else in the world, isn't going to spend any time understanding even the basics of economics, the national economy, or global monetary policies and practices. Instead, we are just going to complain about the cost of living, complain about the other side of the political spectrum, complain about housing, complain about foreigners stealing jobs, complain about youth violence and complain, complain, complain about every ill end evil in the world.

Without connecting any of the dots.

When I write, I often look at slices of society as I observe it. But these slices are part of the macro view, where everything is connected. However, what I notice is that many people will turn their attention to a small slice of the slice, without connecting it to any other parts of the conversation. And that is what it is - a conversation.

All we do as a species is a conversation.

It is more than the words we say to each other, as it is also the words we say to ourselves. But beyond this, it is also all of the words that are omitted from the discussion. The words unsaid. And we have built a public discourse that continually focuses on the micro view of life, without connecting it to the macro. This means there are polarised arguments in a microcosm, as if they live in a vacuum disconnected from the piece next to it, without influencing or being influenced.

But this in itself is a manipulation of the masses, because while the majority don't connect the dots of even their own selves, let alone the rest of the world and their place in it. A minority do. They do think about the macro view and how they can best take advantage for their own self-interest. And the best way to do that is through controlling others to the point they don't even know they are being manipulated, and will even celebrate their systems of control and fight to protect it.

We fight for what we know.

Yet, before fighting for what we think is the right thing, perhaps we should first spend some time thinking about whether what we know is correct, which also means exploring all the things we do not know. Feeling right doesn't make us right. Not knowing is ignorance, and choosing not to explore other options is a choice to remain ignorant. It doesn't matter in which context it is, but we should at least spend some time exploring the areas of our life that impact us the most.

What is troubling you?

It is a question that should be pretty easy to answer, since it comes with a negative feeling, and we all know how we like to be hypersensitive to those. Maybe it is war, or the economy, your personal finances, or your relationships with others and yourself. It could be many things that are troubling you, but then the question becomes.

What do you know about what is troubling you?

And right now, spend some time thinking about what you know, and what you think is the best way forward to ease the trouble and improve the situation. And then recognise, that you are generally making assumptions, without actually knowing that much about a topic that is important enough to trouble you. Your own programming from your past is deciding how you feel and how you are meant to act given the circumstances, ignoring all the other options that there might be out there to deal with the same situation - possibly far more effectively.

What I see in the world is that we are being flayed alive. The system is designed to continually tear at our skin and flesh until there is nothing left but bone. And then those bones will be boiled into a broth to extract any marrow they contain. It is happening at all levels of society, across all aspects of life. While we fight for our personal desires and independence, communities are falling apart. As we struggle with our finances, banks and corporations are hitting record highs. As children are becoming more disillusioned and violent, we are weakening families further through consumer practices. As we each search for meaning, we have made ourselves more and more irrelevant.

But hey....

Freedom!

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]

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