by Ray Jason
One of the great joys of my sea
gypsy life is the ease with which I can alternate between solitude and
camaraderie. Scattered about the Archipelago
of Bliss are many friends living on the shore or on their own islands. They often invite me to come and anchor near
their home and hang out for a few days.
I frequently do so. These are
always delightful interludes.
But when the lonesome call of
contemplation beckons me, there are many empty lagoons where I can linger
alone. There, my only companions are the
creatures of the sea and the sky and my books and my thoughts. But occasionally I will be joined by another
sailing boat that is – how can I say this – different. Most people would describe them as “outlaw
boats,” but I consider them “emancipated boats.”
These are sailors who do not bother
to check in with the authorities, but who wander the Wide Waters as sea
vagabonds without a country. I can
easily ascertain this by making an offhand remark about how easy and
inexpensive it is to clear into this particular country. If they agree with that assessment, I know
that they have not actually checked in, because it is neither easy nor
inexpensive to do so here. Then I will
make another casual remark about the “unfettered freedom of the cruising life.” Usually, at this point our eyes will lock
and they will know that I know.
*******
In my own personal quest for ultimate liberation, I
have not quite reached that stage, but I certainly see the wisdom and the
romance in it. The more deeply I examine
our contemporary society, the more indisputable it is that we are unknowingly ensnared
in an ever-expanding control web. So
the desire to slice through the strands and escape the monster that is weaving
that web grows steadily within me.
As I sit here with my clipboard
composing this essay, I can actually reach out and touch three pieces of
evidence to support my control web assertion.
Here is my new passport which now contains a tracking chip. Beside it is my laptop which I will use to
upload this to my blog in a few hours.
When I turn it on will some pimply Anti-Snowden be staring at me through
its webcam as he dines on a chili-cheese dog and a Dr. Pepper? And over there in my mail pile is an envelope
containing a new debit card. But my
current one does not expire for a couple of years, so why has this arrived? The answer is because it too contains a
tracking chip. However, there is no
reason for me to be concerned since the bank assures me that it is for “my
added convenience.”
But it has nothing to do with “my
added convenience” and everything to do with “their additional control.” When I describe these human spiders as The
Malignant Overlords, I am not just trying to be playful with the language. I am attempting to be disturbingly accurate
with it. Such a phrase seems excessive
to most people, but that’s because most of us are not pathological, we are
caring and kind individuals. So it is
hard to believe that other humans are so psychopathic that even though they
already possess too much wealth and power, they still crave even more control
over us.
The evidence supporting this is not
just sitting on my chart table. It is
everywhere - if one is willing to suspend their Kardashiamania and look at the
world. If one does so, they will
probably conclude as I have, that all vectors point to further degradation in the
human condition for the vast majority of humanity. Indeed, it is the seeming impossibility of
positive improvement that inspired the title of this essay – “What could
possibly go right?”
Here is some of that additional evidence:
·
Surveillance. When Edward Snowden’s revelations first appeared, the
national debate should have been over how swiftly this illegal snooping into
everyday people’s lives could be ended.
Instead, our Malignant Overlords steered the discussion to “How much
unauthorized eavesdropping is acceptable?”
They justified this by claiming it would protect us from “terrorists.” Tragically, most of us fail to realize that
this is just the latest phony bogeyman that replaced the “Red Menace” after the
Soviet Union evaporated.
My concern for privacy
is not delusionary. Ponder for a moment
the three main machines that you use in your life – your computer, your phone
and your car. They all have tracking
devices installed within them. Oh, but I
forgot – that is for your “added convenience.”
Actually, it is so that a tiny elite can gain even greater control over
the mass of humanity.
·
Eliminating Cash.
This latest tool in our rulers’
obscene bag of tricks should be terrifying to everyone; and yet it seems to be
going unnoticed. If money becomes
totally digital, it means that governments with their super-computers will have
complete knowledge of your personal finances.
Certainly they would only use this information for your benefit or for the
greater good. And surely they would not
just “disappear” your life savings if they so wished. In Chile in the 70s, they “disappeared” living
human beings by shoving them out of military aircraft over the Pacific
Ocean. It would be wise to assume that
the M.O.s would vaporize your money, if it seemed to be in their interests.
·
Deliberate Dependency. Currently
in the USA almost half of the population receives some sort of government
check. This is the ultimate tactic for
introducing Soft Servitude. When .gov
informs the recipients that that their food stamps will be cut by 33%, there
might be some who call for revolution. But
the vast majority will just grumble and accept an even greater burden of
subservience. We should all heed these
wise words of Goethe: “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely
believe they are free.”
·
Police Militarization.
Anticipating that the masses might get restless due to
the financial tribulation that may await them, the Malignant Overlords have installed
a militarized police apparatus that would make Big Brother proud. The friendly policeman on the neighborhood
beat has been supplanted by buzz-cut, chubby cops who look like galactic storm
troopers with their body armor and weaponry.
Since decent-paying jobs have practically vanished in the U.S., these
enforcers might have more allegiance towards their paycheck then to the folks
on the other side of the cul-de-sac.
·
Election Reality Show. I
have been trying to fathom why the news media has been so election-crazed
almost a year and a half before the next presidential selection. Then I realized that their true mission is
probably to drown us in this drivel in the hopes of making the citizens believe
that voting is important and actually matters.
Emma Goldman, way back in the 19th Century, had a pretty
accurate understanding of the true value of the representative democracy
charade. “If voting changed anything,
they’d make it illegal.” And that was
long before Corporate Personhood and SuperPacs and TV smear ads and Diebold
voting machines. This explains the
enormous dichotomy between Congressional approval ratings and the insane
frequency of incumbent re-election victories.
*******
So the next time an outlaw boat
anchors near me, I’ll row over with a bottle of good rum. We’ll regale each other with tales of squalls
full of lightning and exquisite sunsets and visits from manta rays. We’ll curse the adverse currents and
celebrate a steady night wind. And just
before rowing home to AVENTURA, I might propose a final toast:
“Here’s to
our sea gypsy tribe – we have embraced lives of freedom and adventure and we
have rejected lives of obedience!”