What you’re about to read was sparked by conversations and by Thoreau’s monolouges about the system of dependence and reckless capitalism that has led America off her noble path into a dark, twisted spot of the forest. So easily we ascribe this corruption to a small group of coniving men who are at the upper echulons of society. Big Phrama is poisoning us, Big agriculture is slowly stripping us of nutrition, and Big tech is actively aiming at snatching our attention. These CEO’s and their employees who do the dirty work are the problem, so it is said. They’re greedy, comfort seeking and, selfish. The oligarchs that run this nation are all of those things. The system is corrupt down to the bone. Its marrow slowly turning green, the color of the money that purchased it.

Ending it there is depressing, hopeless, and only tells half the diagnosis. The corruption doesn’t end nor begin at the top; the top is just where it is the most visible. The common person has the exact same sickness that the multi-billionare has. Corruption is not an isolated process. Just look at history, it has been there since the beginning. The CEO’s are simply repackaging the forbidden fruit that led to the corruption of Paradise. Their greed preying on ours, or more accurately, collaborating with ours. The society we see today is the visible prescense of deep rooted short comings.

Suicide and abortion rates are off the charts. Mass shootings happen almost every single day. War rages around the world and we, myself included, do very little. Most the time we are so desensitized to the tragedies around us that we do not even concern ourselves with them. Not everyone needs to drop what they are doing, but simply caring a little more would be better for everyone.

I’d argue that we do have a choice and a role to play if we don’t want to be pawns. Get off tik tok, instagram reels, and youtube. These “innocent distractions” are exloiting our minds and our time. What we put into our head matters “why be angry at a peach tree for producing a peach” master Oogway. You reap what you sow. Social media algorythms are designed to be as addictive as possible. It preys on tunnel vision within echo chambers. Governments have no need to use propaganda to radicalize the young masses, they do it themselves now, moving further and further away from moderate stances. Being unable to see flaws in the president, or only seeing flaws. It is ridiculous. My hope is that the silent majority continues to grow.

And if you’re reading this and you don’t care at all, this is a reminder that your don’t your actions, however small they may be, have consequences.