Nine Inch Nails sings “Don’t Byte the Hand that Feeds.”  Which hand is that?  Is it the invisible hand of capitalism?  Is it “God’s Hand” that gives us means of survival?  Or is it our bosses hand at our local Corporation that allows us to put food on our table and pay the bills [...]]]>

Nine Inch Nails sings “Don’t Byte the Hand that Feeds.”  Which hand is that?  Is it the invisible hand of capitalism?  Is it “God’s Hand” that gives us means of survival?  Or is it our bosses hand at our local Corporation that allows us to put food on our table and pay the bills of our lifestyle that grows alongside our pay rate?

Current generations have been raised to believe that the main steps of life are birth, school, college, career, retirement and death.  Who wants a life that bland?  It almost seems like we have no choice.  When we are young, our parents push us to do what They think is right.  During the first quarter of our life, we are told what to do, not just by our parents, but all adults, be it teachers, bosses, grandparents, or even our friends’ parents.  Of course by the time we go out on our own we are going to reflect our parents and their belief system.  That is unless we create our own beliefs and pull out of the vicious cycle of working to pay bills.

If one were to step back and look at the whole picture of where society has led us, it’s a grim outlook for all of us.  We are forced to go to school and learn what the system wants us to know.  Then we get a job, usually most beneficial to the Man that we work for, and the next 30-50 years are all the same.  Might as well let robots take over.  Or introduce Soma to society and suppress us further.

In 1932, Aldous Huxley wrote a book called Brave New World, which describes society and everyone within it as a function of a government controlled world.  There are three classes within this world, working class, middle class, and a controlling class – who were ultimately in charge of ensuring total social control – from conditioning before birth [people are produced in factory-like centers and preconditioned to what their life function will be], to their social interaction with society.  I strongly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.  It is eye opening.

How is our current life style any different than what Huxley described 80 years ago? We are not conditioned during our embryos stage, instead, we are conditioned when we are forced through the educational system.  Then we are placed accordingly to our positions as workers, intellectual (better paid) workers, and the controllers (the police / government / secret societies that run this world).

Nine Inch Nails’ lyrics to The Hand That Feeds say…

“You’re keeping in step
In the line
Got your chin held high and
You feel just fine
Cause you do
What you’re told
But inside your heart it is
Black and it’s hollow and
It’s cold.”

We do what we are told in order to earn a dollar so we can buy bread.  Our opinion does not matter.  Our opinion is not worth a dollar.  Our labor is worth a dollar, but for what sacrifices?  Corporations survey their laborers annually and pretend to care for the individual.  At the end of the day, the only important matter is the bottom line, the dollar signs!$!$!$  Even if one were to become the president of a corporation, the stock holders don’t want his/her opinion, they want to see a green bottom line – they tell him/her what to do – and he/she does what they are told!

To be “successful” in Corporate America does not take much.  All it takes is for one to do what they are told and they will get a piece of the pie, but only a small piece.  Two per cent of the population control ninety eight per cent of the wealth.  That two per cent does not give a fly about anybody else.  Yet, that same two percent is probably still not happy.  How long will it take humanity as a mass to realize how Materialism is a poor substitute for happiness?  There is more than enough of everything for everyone, but unless control diminishes, it will be too late for some, and not soon enough for others.

Working for Corporate America is not a success, it has become the norm.  We are all the same – there are no need for labels of any sort.  If it’s to be, it’s up to me!

Photographer: Filomena Scalise