In a World Without Heroes, Evil Prevails
Everything wrong with the world is entirely my fault. I'm sorta, kinda, but not really sorry.
In an angry spat over the state of our collective global economies, destroyed by Keynesian Inflationary Economic Philosophy and made wholly worse through Central Bank and Executive Spendthrift Authority across both aisles of the ideological - Covid Lockdowns and Sanctions was merely an accelerant to an already spiraling global economic order whose guaranteed demise was set into motion and entirely understood centuries prior.
That's right; we knew this was coming. The current state of our world did not need foreboding truths carved on stone tablets nor a gaggle of prophets to spread the word. We felt it together with each passing year and generation, but the times, even in the darkest times, were too good to change.
Order Through Chaos.
Some of the greatest and most sinister evils that man has ever conceptualized were (shockingly) not by men of political appointment or election. They didn’t arise from Tribunals, Common Law Doctrine, Kangaroo Courts, or mutterings of temporary power-seeking sociopaths.
Chaos Through Trust
No. Unfortunately, the most extraordinary and sinister evils were birthed, coddled, and delivered to the world from within the ordinary home of typical families enjoying normal but otherwise respectable everyday lives.
Our Homes. My Home.
In my angry and frustrated tirade, bursting forth from my lips to curious ears - prompted by an innocent question - the world began to unravel as my veiled and curated delusions faded. Slowly, then suddenly, then all together at once:
“If a benefit is made available and I qualify, why wouldn’t I claim it?” she asked casually. Too casually. Uncomfortably casual.
I sputter. I spurt. Uncle Buck’s 1975 Mercury Marquis backfiring rings across my ears.
The allure of the available. The charm of the chargeless.
Free is so addicting if we could roll it up and smoke it: a hundred billion-dollar industry would be born overnight. There is no competition for free, and there is no paid alternative. Free is anti-competitive and anti-self-reliance. Free is never truly free. People who accept free are not Free People. You can have one or the other, but never both.
“I could die for you. But I couldn’t, and wouldn't, live for you.”
-The Fountainhead
How do I explain Free to someone whose childhood was dotted with periods of, shall we say, 'low economic viability? In fact, how do I explain it to myself as a member of that same background and struggle?
Macro and Micro Converged
Free is cheap. It's disposable. It's reductive. It's counter-productive. It's a trap! Never choose free.
Be Free, don't seek Free!
Ah!… pointless macro sentiments and public policy philosophy when paired against the glaring obviousness of Instant and Free from the microeconomic perspective of an individual in the contemplative weighing of the means.
How do I begin to explain the societal decay caused by free? The mind virus, which has no easy cure, is the most painful and challenging to treat.
Free Housing. Free Food. Free Medical Care.
She knows the arguments regarding free. She knows the cost and price inside any market of any size when free is on sale. Yet we aren't talking about greater society here; we're talking about her life and future — my best friend.
"Do you really need it?" I almost guiltily enquire, knowing that her compensation nearly places her in the country's top 20% of Income Earners, "You're doing so well already."
Her response comes across as what could best be assumed as the standard response for anyone seeking free: she has a need. Quitting her job to upgrade her education in an effort to expand her career potential within and outside her field, she, with the stroke of a pen, will cease to be this beacon of success and status - to be thrown back among the 'un/under-employed university student-class. A class of persons that statistically spend more in three quarters than the average household gross income over the entire four (only slightly hyperbolic).
Policy positions and possibilities scroll past my eyes, including the likes of Income Qualifiers/Disqualifiers and other means of Economic Benefit Targeting and Exclusion.
“Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing.”
-Albert Einstein
Alas! Free is.
Yet, this cannot be the end of this story. Every day people are fighting for more free. They demand to live free, die free, and, most importantly, though far more subliminal - Avoid being free.
Free is the easiest to accept and the hardest to reject. It’s the marketing tactic of street-level drug dealers in my area: “First bump is always free.” (As an aside - the locals in my area call cocaine by the nickname of ‘More.’ “Got More? I need more. Everyone could use a little more. Who doesn’t want more?”)
“Reason from 1st Principals”
-Michael Saylor
Where exactly does “free” come from? Why is this draw so prolific within not only politics but general consumption, culture, and content creation? The basis of “free” is now forming the economic backbone of 90% of the public’s digital life.
“Free and always will be”
-Facebook 2019
Even Facebook has recently changed its previous stance on free, having removed the reference quoted above due to changing "public sentiment." Yet the public's sentiment hasn't shifted from free; instead, it was altered by the knowledge that not even Facebook is genuinely free.
To this writer, the root of free isn't so much laziness but rather helplessness - whether warranted or not. The first initial calls by the public for 'free' are seemingly unrelated:
"Someone needs to do something," followed by its close cousin of "Help us."
The problem is not dithering politicians whose responses and interpretations are far closer to mechanical than anything remotely authentic. They are running a popularity contest, after all. The problem comes directly from the very bedrock of this nation - The homes and families which form the American Public.
Regardless of socio-economic status, we start off this life receiving everything for free: Food, clothing, shelter, personal care, grooming, and even higher education (Public High School is a relatively new concept, historically speaking). Yet somewhere along the line, we parents forgot to mention the Principals of Free to our offspring, namely that nothing is free, and everything made free is worth nothing.
She candidly replied: "If what your saying is true, it's already too late."
God helps those who help themselves
I am not a religious man, but only a fool could look upon a text as large and old as the Bible/Qur'an and assume not a single ounce of truth was to be had among hundreds of stories and parables. Though technically, the above quote isn't found within the Bible or Qur'an, there is much debate regarding biblical intention - the very act of prayer is a form of seeking inspiration and guidance upon life's path.
We have always been a people, across all history, of stories. Humanity is populated by storytellers, with only a few ever chosen to speak and significantly fewer of those remembered for speaking. We are a nation of stories of men and women, minorities, and immigrants who sought a better life on these shores. We were once a people who sought Freedom over Free.
I conceded the round to my friend. Take the benefits. We could assume an equal playing field, even if the intention of equality inherently disadvantages more than helps.
I'm not satisfied with my conclusion, but I rest assured this story is far from resolved and even further from actual realization. This storyteller remains in unrest.
America - Land of the (temporarily) not-so-free
As always,
Farewell, and Good Luck.
-Dark Philosopher
Forecasting Trends
Socialist and Communist policies and political perversions are expected to continue in due course. Poor economic outlook leads to further increases in desirability and political action toward these goals,
Reversal requires a complete shift in economic prospects OR fully realized/publicized public policy objectives with sufficient public or political backlash,
Extreme Political Candidates and Positions become fiercely guarded secrets during election periods, with most candidates appealing to the centrist policy positions in their bid for election,
Abandonment of Roll Call Votes
Shifting Overton Window toward political spectrum unification causes the rise of electable third-party contenders.
Future Black Swan Possibilities
Political campaigns and deceptive marketing led to political extremist members gaining majority power in Federal or State houses (circa year 2035+) following a dire economic outlook nationally/regionally,
Results in Activist backlash, Possible Political Violence, and significant shifts in business operations, cycles, and other activities
Possible Split Vote or Vote Contention leading to Constitutional Crisis,
National, State, or Regional violence break out as economic factors diminish or flatline, Limited Civilian and Operational Military Civil War outbreaks or Military Assumptions of Governance (Military Coup for Stabilization Purposes),
Secret Candidacy - Political Opposition hires Fake Operatives to Infiltrate opposing political parties with the goal of internal implosion and undesirability of national/state policy,
Fake Democrats run as Republicans (RINO) or vice versa.
Article Updates
October 28th, 2022 - Grammar, Format
November 16th, 2023 - Layout, Format, Signature