Doing a 180 with Hunter S. Thompson

Underlings like you and I are raised on a steady diet of lies and misinformation from birth.  As young children, we are told tall tales by trusted adults.  Tales of Santa Claus, The Tooth Fairy, and The Easter Bunny dance in our vulnerable little heads, and we believe without question.  Why not?  The rewards are great.  Presents under a tree, cash under our pillows, chocolate bunnies, and smiles.  Mindless faith equals sweet rewards.  Of course our parents know that they’re blatant liars, but they’re just continuing the tradition.  To spill the beans about Santa Claus to an innocent child is akin to kicking a puppy or shoving an old lady into oncoming traffic.  Despicable. The lies must go on.  Truth has no value in this society.  Capitalism feeds on falsification and fairy tales.  Santa Claus, as we know him, was invented by a Coca Cola employee.

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[dropcap]P[/dropcap]eople who take the pledge and sell themselves to the Military become simply part of the most ferocious and violent killing machine in history.  We shower them with thanks for their service, when we should, instead, forgive them, for they know not what they do.  It’s never as it seems, Bubba.

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And so as adults, we readily and unquestioningly accept nearly every lie thrown at us, learning that doing so insures us a place of acceptance in society.  Gradually, as the lies of childhood are cast aside, new, mature versions are embraced.  Organized, institutional, man-made religions promise us eternal bliss in exchange for groveling prayer and cash donations.  A crucifix, crescent moon & star, or Star of David dangles from our necks, so strangers can tell which team we’re on, and whether they should look at us, speak to us, bomb us, or do business with us.  We gladly accept far-fetched tales of saviors who walk on water, turn that water to wine, and arise from the dead.  Tales which rival stories of a fat, bearded man delivering presents from a flying reindeer-driven sleigh in the middle of winter.  Tall tales with a mature theme for adults seeking the bliss of comfortable, childish lies.

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[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s one who seeks the truth at all cost and above all else, I buy into Hunter S. Thompson’s 180 Degree Theory lock, stock, and barrel.  It’s never as it seems, Bubba.  Truth is the enemy of your owners.  They don’t want you to get your panties in a bunch over issues of real importance.  You’ve been trained from birth that there is comfort in doing, saying, and believing what you’re told.  Your owners are the man behind the curtain.  The curtain is there for a reason, and you’re not allowed to pay attention to, nor question the man who lurks behind it.

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The only matters of any importance in this world are those which your television, newspapers, and MSM websites tell you are important.  If you’re a man, you fill your little brain with professional sports statistics and dream of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models.  Women are required to be overly-concerned with fashion, make-up, hairstyle, varicose veins, cellulite, and Hollywood gossip.  Fear-mongering presstitutes seem to possess a never-ending repertoire of boogey men, unthinkable diseases, and dire warnings to keep us dumb, distracted, and off-balance.

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We are required to unquestioningly praise the U.S. Military for keeping us free, and protecting us from the villains du jour, in spite of the fact that it is really nothing more than a band of merciless mercenaries, hired by Wall Street to rob, rape, and pillage the resources of other countries.  Amerika is in the business of war…nay, is dedicated, heart and soul, to the manufacture, sale, and use of Weapons of Mass Destruction.  People who take the pledge and sell themselves to the Military become simply part of the most ferocious and violent killing machine in history.  We shower them with thanks for their service, when we should, instead, forgive them, for they know not what they do.  It’s never as it seems, Bubba.

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We are required to love the Ameikan system they call “Justice”.  To embrace the police who shoot or arrest the outlaws, to be thankful for the prison guards who isolate, taunt, and abuse them, to honor the laws that incarcerate them.  This, in spite of the fact that police forces were originally created to hunt down runaway slaves, which they are still doing.  This, in spite of the fact that people who make billions operating prisons for profit also write the draconic laws, which are responsible for Amerika’s mass-incarceration, which they pen and deliver to our elected officials along with the obligatory bribes.  All this, in spite of the fact that the U.S.A…land of the free…has 5% of earth’s population and 25% of its prisoners.  Freedom isn’t free.  Only the wealthy are semi-immune to incarceration.  It’s never as it seems, Bubba.  You’re just a commodity.  Remember?

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We are expected, as Amerikans, to participate in the sorry, silly circuses called “elections”.  We are given a choice between two candidates, both of whom work for our owners, and are committed to carrying out the official, secret agenda.  We are told that these politicians are our representatives, and are looking out for our best interests.  No one outside the two approved parties is allowed an actual chance to participate in government.  Elections are just selections, and the outcomes have been pre-determined by our owners.  The results are manufactured by the media, and insured by easily-rigged electronic voting machines. There is nobody out there to represent you, Bubba.  Democracy is a scam.  It’s never as it seems.

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Here in Amerika, Bubba, we are told that our educational system is the finest on earth.  For-profit schools manufacture wage-slaves for business.  Students are taught nothing about critical thinking.  “Believe!” is the motto.  Student loans keep graduates in perpetual debt peonage, from graduation to the grave.  If the loan sharks don’t devour the slaves, the pharmaceutical industry and private hospitals will.  Even though Amerikans are told that they have the finest healthcare system on earth, one sprained ankle or broken bone can spell economic disaster and bankruptcy.  ‘Tis a tangled web, Bubba, and it’s never as it seems.

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Believe nothing, Bubba.  The louder and oftener it’s shouted from the rafters of the news networks, the likelier it is to be a lie.  What the hell happened to Zika!  Zika!  Zika!  A sad and frightening repeat of Mad Cow Disease, Swine Flu, Bird Flu, Hantavirus, and a host of other CDC fabrications.  Microcephaly induced by Zika?  Seems there have been no studies to substantiate the connection, but don’t worry your little head over details.  If Lester Holt says it’s so, it’s so.  Never mind that the CIA has been out to lay ruin to the alleged Zika epicenter in Brazil (one of the dreaded BRICS countries).  Never mind that Brazil is ground zero for agro-chemical agriculture, and that Microcephaly has been linked to certain toxic agro-chemicals.  Never mind that the very existence of Zika is in question, and that, at worst, the symptoms are mild.  Never mind that the Zika scam opens wide new multi-billion dollar doors for Big Pharma to market its bogus vaccines.  Believe the lies if you choose, but remember Bubba, it’s never as it seems.

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Understand your lot in life, and your place on the food chain, Bubba.  Understand that you’re a slave, and that slaves are not born to question authority, make decisions, nor have opinions.  John and Bobby Kennedy were killed by lone assassins.  Osama bin Laden’s band of boogey men brought down the World Trade Center.  Paul Wellstone and John Kennedy Jr. were both killed in freak, unexplainable airplane crashes.  A disturbed, rogue racist killed MLK.  The Boston Marathon Bombing and a host of other questionable terrorist events have been perpetrated by Muslims who (as George Bush famously told us) hate our freedom.  So enjoy your freedom, Bubba.  Bask in it, bathe in it, let the ringing of Amerikan freedom fill your ears and soothe your soul.  Count yourself lucky to be among the exceptional people in the exceptional nation with the bravest and best fighting force in the history of mankind.  But above all, believe what you’re told, Bubba.  It will ease the pain of being slowly consumed.  Believe!