Governments are shooting at their citizens. And not just in what the “enlightened city dweller” may call “backward countries”.
This will not surprise people that have ever opened a random page in any history book.
It will surprise people that believe in the ancient fairytale of “getting the right person in power”.
Actually, it won’t surprise them. In his hubris, the “enlightened city dweller” will blame his stupid neighbours for voting the wrong way.
Well, he usually won’t blame his direct neighbours, but the distant ones, those “unenlightened country folks”.
No offence to “enlightened city dwellers” — the “unenlightened country folks” usually have the same low opinion of their friends in the city.
Your rulers have one message for the “enlightened city dwellers” and another one for the “unenlightened country folks”. There are even different TV stations and press products catering to each.
Your rulers aren’t interested in reconciliation. They love to propagate the right/left, red/blue, tory/labor paradigm.
What was that saying about truth and it lying somewhere in the middle?
Or was is in wine there is truth?
Can’t remember now. Too much wine!
Your rulers will tell you whatever you need to hear in order for you to keep giving them power. It’s the only way they know.
And we continue to let them divide us effortlessly.
So effortlessly, it could be considered laughable if human lives weren’t constantly at stake.
How many new political saviors need to enter the scene and fail until you realize that the only human being capable of saving yourself is you?
The answer: an endless amount, as long as we’re afraid.
The solution: developing courage.
The courage to face the world.
The courage to go out there and find out that it’s not as dangerous a place as the news anchors and all the drama on Netflix want to make us believe.
The courage to look our neighbors in the eye and realize that we have no right to control each other.
Courage is lacking, but it is desperately craved for.
It’s the reason Marvel superhero movies are more popular than ever.
People love a hero.
However, these comic book characters also make it look like you need more than a discerning mind, basic motor skills and courage to be a hero.
These movies make it seem like special powers are required.
This is a lie.
In the real world, this lie translates into intelligent beings handing over their agency to rulers, because these rulers are believed to have special powers.
The only special power they have is the ability to convince you and everyone around you, with a straight face, that you are too small, stupid, violent, untrustworthy to run your own life.
Worse, they actually convince you that your neighbors are too small, stupid, violent, untrustworthy to run their own lives.
So you become paranoid and afraid of all sorts of imaginary enemies, except the one true enemy of the people: the men and women that tell you there is legitimacy to rulership, and thus slavery.