Institutional Marionette...

As children we never realized that we were being attached to strings; the fun, games, television, arcades, and sports all provided enough distraction for us that we never noticed being bound. The television provided us with a model for appropriate behavior and thought, our parents imposed upon us guidelines for beliefs, and school prohibited any deviation from the norm. As we continue our "education" we become a manufactured product that serves a purpose in society. We learn to desire expensive cars, clothes, toys, homes, etc... We also learn that the meaning of life is to satisfy desire. So when we choose our paths in life we take into account the satisfying of our desires and thanks to mass media those desires are prescribed for us. We downplay our dreams so that we can fill that void of possessions that is most prevalent in the youth. We commit our lives to the pursuit of a lifestyle that we feel destined to enter. We ignore the temptation to do as we dreamed as a child because our society doesn't easily allow one to veer off the beaten trail. It is a shame that in this common era, it is sneered upon to search for yourself. Why reinvent the wheel they say. But what if the wheel is flawed? We will continue to travel with it until it is proven flawed, and nobody will prove the flaw unless they try to reinvent the wheel again. With some ideas the reinvention of the wheel is pointless. For instance, if we try to reinvent mathematics once again, or the foundations of logic, or even scientific method, there is probably little room for improvement. Even though simple ideas may be sufficient there are complex subjects such as the God question, the nature of man, the role of society, government and they are all in dire need of revamping. Unfortunately, there are social mechanisms to maintain the current order of things. Lets try to imagine a revolution in an advanced society. Rest assured, the rebels would be crushed; they would lack numbers, supplies, information, support, propaganda, resources, to mention the least. There is no changing the new modern governments from the outside. It all must be accomplished from within, however, that will never happen because while a person works within the system to rise to a position of power they will be unknowingly brainwashed and corrupted ever so subtly. They vicariously learn that conforming is beneficial and the contrary is disruptive to what the system considers progress.

How could there be progress with such adherence to the status quo?