Many of us find ourselves dreaming of future days filled with free time, unlimited cash, and having more of everything. Our future selves are so powerful, we live as if we are the exception, yet do very little in the present. Somehow we're smarter, more capable than our contemporaries, and eventually, sometime before we turn 30, we'll somehow arrive at that future life.
The sad truth. You're not exceptional, and neither am I. We are.. Average.
Scoff at if, ignore it, but deep down you know it. It's a statistical fact, most of us will amount to nothing, so we drown that truth in fantasy. Whole industries thrive on it. NetFlix bing anyone? Consider how mainstream the video game instrustry has become. Maybe you find yourself taking a break at 420 every day. Oh and don't forget about the Porn! It's lure has swallowed up a whole generation of young men. Leaders are now an extinct breed.
Even in the face of these blinding truths, we put our heads down and grind away at our work. Every commute crowns you the most important person on the road. You have the skill of a professional stunt driver, elavating yourself above 'them'. A rush of freedom surges through you as you easily race around the idiots on the road, then you get stopped at a light and 'they' all catch up. You stare straight ahead in disbelief. A wave of frustration consumes you. Now you're pushing harder to get ahead. Pop pop! Photo radar nails you and you take that dose of road rage with you to work.
You hate your job with the hatred of a thousand Hitlers. Every day you are reminded of your lesser position in life with happy smiling youthful faces, enjoying a carefree life. They drive shiny cars, have no responsibilities, party often, and that 'could' be you! Every ad you see, manipulates your deepest desires and plays your emotions into buying that vision.
It's portrayed as attainable, so we cast off, in a sea of fantasy seeking that idealized life. We work hard, get educated and conclude life will be filled with sandy vacations, a spectacular home, fancy things, a trophy wife and early retirement. It's a soothing shower of blissful dreams motivating you onwards.
Now for the burn. The bank flushes the toilet, and that wonderfully soothing vision is replaced with scalding reality. The overinflated cost of a midrange home simply does not match what most people earn. Very few can afford to go on a foreign vacation. The financial squeeze is so tight, kids aren't moving out, and baby boomers are retiring on their death beds.
Back in the 50's families could pay for and own a home within a few years, and afford to go on several vacations a year. As time went on, banks became well aware of our desire to live a carefree existence. Steadily since then, they've raised home costs, until it became unattainable for most. Now, by offering 'good' debt as a financial solution to this 'housing crisis', millions of people are now debt slaves.
Eventually the majority of people owe so much, that the economy slows. Once this recession takes hold, prices come back down. The wriggling worm is once more cast into the fishing hole, and we bite. Prices begin to rise, and the economy is strengenthed. This pattern will never cease. It is inherit in the system.
Unaware of the oppression above us, we go about our lives chasing the bait. The pursuit is so stressful, we spend our precious free time on escape. Activities that are razor effective at, numbing you from the truth, and keeping your life the same.
Freedom was stolen from you, the minute you entered grade school. They domesticated you to be a commodity on the consumer farm. As long as you stay on the farm and continue to use utilities, buy gas and eat factory produced food, you will not pull ahead. Not only will you likely never succeed living your dream, you will be dissatissfied for a large portion of your existence.
I think that 50's movie with Charlton Heston, The 10 Commandments, is a perfect parallel of our situation. Under Egyptian law, the Jewish people were commodities in the slave trade. Generations of them, bought sold and traded, to maintain and grow the Egyptian empire. Back then, trying to go 'off-grid' meant you were beaten, whipped, or murdered.
Eventually Moses came along, led the Jews out of Egypt, and without it's slaves, Egypt fell. Yet, many Jews were afraid to leave at first. The desert offered nothing but a blank slate of unknowns. Where would they get their food and water? They didn't know how to live outside of the system. Could Moses lead them safely to an unseen promised land, somewhere out there in the middle of nothing?
These days modern conspiring groups need us to build up their empires. They also do not encourage, or facilitate a path to self-reliance. Debt slaves are vital to their power. They promote increased consumption, debt, distraction, and will block your escape at every turn. They hold all the 'Promised land', and fund legislation for a neverending supply of restrictions, fees, and licenses against an off-grid option. Make no mistake, slavery is their end game.
Society is slowly waking up to this, and a shift from consumer driven to self-sustaining producers is spreading. For me it's been almost 3 years in my minivan. I slammed on the brakes so hard my grandchildren will feel the whiplash. For our children's future, we simply must stop giving others power over our lives. Join me, unplug a part of your life, and take back your agency.