We Live In An Age Of Charlatans

We live in an age of charlatans.   Crooks rule the roost, and experts only excel at emptying our pockets.  The days of honest labor, and forthright principles are over (if they were ever more than a myth), replaced by the dog eat dog world of personal advantage of an anything goes corporatism. One thing is certain, those who live by the law of the jungle make poor citizens of the world.  Doubly troublesome, the beast kings not only rule, but set the standard that we are meant to follow.  If the bar of basic humanity is set so low, it is assured in the limbo- dance of life that none will make it under,  trapped on the beast side of the bar.

Each may have the ability to choose correct behavior.  But when the examples of rightness are few and fading, while beastliness is extolled from every screen, speaker, and page, the standards of conducting ones self in society, the world, even your most intimate relationships, soon descend to the lowest depths where fear rules the roost.  Fear of failure, fear of violence, fear of ostracism.

How stressful this modern life, where one is whipped on to compete, to conquer, to control, to endlessly struggle against the weight of carrying the king beast, like great apes upon ones back.  Needing exponentially greater effort day to day to keep the roof over your head, and the latest gadget on hand to assure your readiness for continuous exploitation.  Those who buck when the bit is places between their teeth are quickly  medicated, incarcerated, or marginalized.  "Stress", we are told by the mental health charlatans. is just a matter of how you view your situation.  I am sure that will comfort our friends in Baghdad, or residents of the Eastern Congo.  Life is stressful due to the complete disconnect between what we are given as expectation by our exploiters and their henchmen, and what we can perceive to be right action and healthy relationships, both to those around us, and to the world as a whole.

While we are not yet one giant work camp, Auschwitz like in its work makes free death march, we are on that path.  For many the treadmill of labor is broken only by the respite for propaganda in the form of thrilling spectacle.  The audience as victim is misdirected  to believe themselves participant.  But participating indicates an active creative roll, to do rather than to be done.  And the spectacle is all about  the opportunity to market product, lifestyle, world-view.  All of which are narrowly defined by arbiters with a  rigid definition of the acceptable or desirable.  

In our charlatan world success is only possible in terms of market, and market through the machinations of technology and legislation has come to include the complete array of possible purchasers. How unfortunate it is that instead of seeking to connect us all in that which calls to the highest ability and aspiration in each as an individual, instead we are pandered to at the most base and lowest  point.  Making anything produced for this global slop bucket of degraded ideas fit only for swine. 

You can go along to get along.  You can reach for the brass ring. But then what do you have, a brass ring.  Or you can stay awake. Not pass on what your fed, just because it easier than challenging fallacy.  You can choose to act rightly, and being awake, you will recognize what that means in all your daily actions.  

You can create for the better, rather than sell yourself short, and accept the lies told us by charlatans.