Am I the only one who feels like I live in 1984?

[Jon]

The world's "poor" and "middle-class" spend their days buying consumerist garbage, drinking, gambling and wasting their time on prolefeed-like media. The high-level corporate, government and banking classes use the power of law to end competition and collect from the working class through tax-hikes, sanctions and ever-increasing inflation. They live lives of unrestricted leisure while most of us work for them through the interest rates on country's debts, the taxes we pay and, again, inflation.

The mass majority voluntarily displays their lives, beliefs and activities on Facebook and "Check-in" location tracking services, which is thereby scrutinized by the powers that be. The NSA collects encrypted and unencrypted web traffic and stores it on their servers indefinitely, to then be cracked and read for potential threats. As we speak, the CIA plans to implant low-power tracking devices in lamps, appliances and other products: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7Ct7QwxP23U .

They don't want anybody threatening their power.

Potential dissidents are tracked, monitored and labeled as terrorists with very broad criteria. Over a million normal people are put on no-fly lists and are subject to restrictions in their daily lives through background checks among other things. What lies ahead could be anything.

Honestly, I feel the totalitarian state is already here. How about you? Do you trust the powers that be?

[the joint]

The world's "poor" and "middle-class" spend their days buying consumerist garbage, drinking, gambling and wasting their time on prolofeed-like media. The high-level corporate, government and banking classes use the power of law to end competition and collect from the working class through tax-hikes, sanctions and ever-increasing inflation. They live lives of unrestricted leisure while most of us work for them through the interest rates on country's debts, the taxes we pay and, again, inflation.

The mass majority voluntarily displays their lives, beliefs and activities on Facebook and "Check-in" location tracking services, which is thereby scrutinized by the powers that be. The NSA collects encrypted and unencrypted web traffic and stores it on the servers indefinitely, to then be cracked and read for potential threats. As we speak, the CIA plans to implant low-power tracking devices in lamps, appliances and other products: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7Ct7QwxP23U .

They don't want anybody threatening their power.

Potential dissidents are tracked, monitored and labeled as terrorists with very broad criteria. Over a million normal people are put on no-fly lists and are subject to restrictions in their daily lives through background checks among other things. What lies ahead could be anything.

Honestly, I feel the totalitarian state is already here. How about you? Do you trust the powers that be?

Work hard, develop skills, and you can be just as competitive as the "powers that be."  That's no joke.  People either get wealthy and powerful because 1) they were born into a wealthy and powerful family or 2) they have undeniable and useful talents.  If they are born into a wealthy family, it is likely that their ancestors had undeniable and useful talents.

If you were wealthy and powerful, wouldn't you like to know that your children, and your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren, etc. will be wealthy and powerful too?  I know I would.

My opinions are mixed.  Do I agree with all the decisions coming from the top?  No.  Do I really care?  Well, I used to, just like you, and to an extent I still do, but my passion to grapple with authority (I'd be a prime candidate for oppositional defiant disorder) is now mitigated by the serenity of acceptance.

I like myself, and I am a product of the same society as the "powers that be."  And, since that is the case, I'm pretty appreciative of them.  As you like to say yourself, Atlas, truth "is,"  and things "are."  If you truly believe that, you will realize that it is possible to both fight with all of your might and to also have peace of mind.

Edit:  And to answer the trust question, no, I don't.  But then again, I also don't trust the sources that give me information about the "powers that be."  So, what the fuck do I really know about them anyway?

[Jon]

the joint, a cushy bureaucrat job is not my idea of freedom.

I want the ability to build, to think, to speak and to organize as I please with no restriction. That's what brings me pleasure. All the wealth and benefits in the world would bring no such happiness; not if the potentially great minds of this world are reduced to sheep.

To reach retirement, that's easy given enough patience. I am not afraid of not reaching financial stability. I am not even afraid of having a hard life. I like the outdoors. I like hunting.

What I am afraid of is complete bondage in what I wish to do. That's what I value: True freedom.

An easy living with all the amenities? That means nothing to me. Actually, it's easily achievable for somebody not afraid of sweat.

An easy living with no responsibility is only valuable to the people who have had their spirits broken and their bodies poisoned and bloated with garbage.

[the joint]

the joint, a cushy bureaucrat job is not my idea of freedom.

I want the ability to build, to think, to speak and to organize as I please with no restriction. That's what brings me pleasure. All the wealth and benefits in the world would bring no such happiness; not if the potentially great minds of this world are reduced to sheep.

To reach retirement, that's easy given enough patience. I am not afraid of not reaching financial stability. I am not even afraid of having a hard life. I like the outdoors. I like hunting.

What I am afraid of is complete bondage in what I wish to do. That's what I value: True freedom.

An easy living with all the amenities? That means nothing to me. Actually, it's easily achievable for somebody not afraid of sweat.

An easy living with no responsibility is only valuable to the people who have had their spirits broken and their bodies poisoned and bloated with garbage.

People have freedom of interpretation and freedom of mind.  The freedom of interpretation allows us to literally create the world around us.  Freedom of mind allows us to choose to retain that freedom or, conversely, to place our own constraints.  Whenever you think or speak, you use your freedom of interpretation.  And, when you interpret the world as being constraining, you are placing your own constraints.

Believe me, I've spent enough time at 3 different Universities preaching about how the peer-review system is the largest obstacle to scientific progress.  I believe this to be true.  But I don't lose sleep over its existence.

I'll repeat what I said in another thread in this one:  Projection is not only a defense-mechanism, it's a truism.  If you see the world as being full of shackles and chains, it's only because of the shackles and chains in your mind.  You put them there, and you don't realize that it was only through the medium of true freedom that they exist in the first place.

[Jon]

You're speaking to a solipsist, joint. I am quite aware it's all a matter of perception but I will stand by my preferences. I am not absolutely dependent on them but I do value absolute individual liberty and I will not just simply throw it aside. It costs me nothing for it is who I am.

Is a man not entitled to his desires?

In summary, yes, I can do the same things with a 100-pound bag on my back but is it a sin to want the bag gone nonetheless?

[the joint]

You're speaking to a solipsist, joint. I am quite aware it's all a matter of perception but I will stand by my preferences. I am not absolutely dependent on them but I do value absolute individual liberty and I will not just simply throw it aside. It costs me nothing for it is who I am.

Is a man not entitled to his desires?

In summary, yes, I can do the same things with a 100-pound bag on my back but is it a sin to want the bag gone nonetheless?

What's more important to you, perfection or happiness?

I think you're entitled to your desires...I don't think you're entitled to the things you desire.

And, if you agree that "it's all a matter of perception," then change your perception and turn the 100-pound bag on your back into a jetpack.

[Jon]

You're speaking to a solipsist, joint. I am quite aware it's all a matter of perception but I will stand by my preferences. I am not absolutely dependent on them but I do value absolute individual liberty and I will not just simply throw it aside. It costs me nothing for it is who I am.

Is a man not entitled to his desires?

In summary, yes, I can do the same things with a 100-pound bag on my back but is it a sin to want the bag gone nonetheless?

What's more important to you, perfection or happiness?

I think you're entitled to your desires...I don't think you're entitled to the things you desire.

And, if you agree that "it's all a matter of perception," then change your perception and turn the 100-pound bag on your back into a jetpack.

I am happy. That's why I am capable of acting with no remorse.

I am also entitled to the things I desire once I have the strength to attain them.

[the joint]

You're speaking to a solipsist, joint. I am quite aware it's all a matter of perception but I will stand by my preferences. I am not absolutely dependent on them but I do value absolute individual liberty and I will not just simply throw it aside. It costs me nothing for it is who I am.

Is a man not entitled to his desires?

In summary, yes, I can do the same things with a 100-pound bag on my back but is it a sin to want the bag gone nonetheless?

What's more important to you, perfection or happiness?

I think you're entitled to your desires...I don't think you're entitled to the things you desire.

And, if you agree that "it's all a matter of perception," then change your perception and turn the 100-pound bag on your back into a jetpack.

I am happy. That's why I am capable of acting with no remorse.

I am also entitled to the things I desire once I have the strength to attain them.

Ok.

[Jon]

You're speaking to a solipsist, joint. I am quite aware it's all a matter of perception but I will stand by my preferences. I am not absolutely dependent on them but I do value absolute individual liberty and I will not just simply throw it aside. It costs me nothing for it is who I am.

Is a man not entitled to his desires?

In summary, yes, I can do the same things with a 100-pound bag on my back but is it a sin to want the bag gone nonetheless?

What's more important to you, perfection or happiness?

I think you're entitled to your desires...I don't think you're entitled to the things you desire.

And, if you agree that "it's all a matter of perception," then change your perception and turn the 100-pound bag on your back into a jetpack.

I am happy. That's why I am capable of acting with no remorse.

I am also entitled to the things I desire once I have the strength to attain them.

Ok.

Interesting you respond only to say "Okay". I am interested in your thoughts. Why else would I have a conversation with you?

[the joint]

You're speaking to a solipsist, joint. I am quite aware it's all a matter of perception but I will stand by my preferences. I am not absolutely dependent on them but I do value absolute individual liberty and I will not just simply throw it aside. It costs me nothing for it is who I am.

Is a man not entitled to his desires?

In summary, yes, I can do the same things with a 100-pound bag on my back but is it a sin to want the bag gone nonetheless?

What's more important to you, perfection or happiness?

I think you're entitled to your desires...I don't think you're entitled to the things you desire.

And, if you agree that "it's all a matter of perception," then change your perception and turn the 100-pound bag on your back into a jetpack.

I am happy. That's why I am capable of acting with no remorse.

I am also entitled to the things I desire once I have the strength to attain them.

Ok.

Interesting you respond only to say "Okay". I am interested in your thoughts. Why else would I have a conversation with you?

Because if you're happy, what else do you need?

[Jon]

You're speaking to a solipsist, joint. I am quite aware it's all a matter of perception but I will stand by my preferences. I am not absolutely dependent on them but I do value absolute individual liberty and I will not just simply throw it aside. It costs me nothing for it is who I am.

Is a man not entitled to his desires?

In summary, yes, I can do the same things with a 100-pound bag on my back but is it a sin to want the bag gone nonetheless?

What's more important to you, perfection or happiness?

I think you're entitled to your desires...I don't think you're entitled to the things you desire.

And, if you agree that "it's all a matter of perception," then change your perception and turn the 100-pound bag on your back into a jetpack.

I am happy. That's why I am capable of acting with no remorse.

I am also entitled to the things I desire once I have the strength to attain them.

Ok.

Interesting you respond only to say "Okay". I am interested in your thoughts. Why else would I have a conversation with you?

Because if you're happy, what else do you need?

I "need" nothing but I still act within my nature. Man does not stay stagnant.

It seems your idea of happiness entails doing nothing.

[the joint]

You're speaking to a solipsist, joint. I am quite aware it's all a matter of perception but I will stand by my preferences. I am not absolutely dependent on them but I do value absolute individual liberty and I will not just simply throw it aside. It costs me nothing for it is who I am.

Is a man not entitled to his desires?

In summary, yes, I can do the same things with a 100-pound bag on my back but is it a sin to want the bag gone nonetheless?

What's more important to you, perfection or happiness?

I think you're entitled to your desires...I don't think you're entitled to the things you desire.

And, if you agree that "it's all a matter of perception," then change your perception and turn the 100-pound bag on your back into a jetpack.

I am happy. That's why I am capable of acting with no remorse.

I am also entitled to the things I desire once I have the strength to attain them.

Ok.

Interesting you respond only to say "Okay". I am interested in your thoughts. Why else would I have a conversation with you?

Because if you're happy, what else do you need?

I "need" nothing but I still act within my nature. Man does not stay stagnant.

It seems your idea of happiness entails doing nothing.

I just remember you once saying something about anxiety, and coupled with the passionate nature in which you speak (your eloquent choice of language suits a man who is already in a deserved position of entitlement, no less -- think political candidates here) which I suspect is ironic in that the actual words you choose indicate that you don't have all that you feel is entitled to you, it all seems a little...contradictory.

[Stardust]

I feel like we live in a mix of 1984 and Idiocracy, regardless of what country we live in. I think religions fill the role of thought police along government intelligence organizations.

It's interesting to note that members of the inner party in 1984, were not free, they were just slaves with privileges.

[the joint]

I feel like we live in a mix of 1984 and Idiocracy, regardless of what country we live in. I think religions fill the role of thought police along government intelligence organizations.

It's interesting to note that members of the inner party in 1984, were not free, they were just slaves with privileges.

+1 for a president whose middle name is Mountain Dew.

[Jon]

I feel like we live in a mix of 1984 and Idiocracy, regardless of what country we live in. I think religions fill the role of thought police along government intelligence organizations.

It's interesting to note that members of the inner party in 1984, were not free, they were just slaves with privileges.

It's much like how we don't know who controls the central banking holding companies (Goldman Sachs, Rothschild, etc.) beyond their ornamental CEOs.

Turtles all the way down.

[Jon]

You're speaking to a solipsist, joint. I am quite aware it's all a matter of perception but I will stand by my preferences. I am not absolutely dependent on them but I do value absolute individual liberty and I will not just simply throw it aside. It costs me nothing for it is who I am.

Is a man not entitled to his desires?

In summary, yes, I can do the same things with a 100-pound bag on my back but is it a sin to want the bag gone nonetheless?

What's more important to you, perfection or happiness?

I think you're entitled to your desires...I don't think you're entitled to the things you desire.

And, if you agree that "it's all a matter of perception," then change your perception and turn the 100-pound bag on your back into a jetpack.

I am happy. That's why I am capable of acting with no remorse.

I am also entitled to the things I desire once I have the strength to attain them.

Ok.

Interesting you respond only to say "Okay". I am interested in your thoughts. Why else would I have a conversation with you?

Because if you're happy, what else do you need?

I "need" nothing but I still act within my nature. Man does not stay stagnant.

It seems your idea of happiness entails doing nothing.

I just remember you once saying something about anxiety, and coupled with the passionate nature in which you speak (your eloquent choice of language suits a man who is already in a deserved position of entitlement, no less -- think political candidates here) which I suspect is ironic in that the actual words you choose indicate that you don't have all that you feel is entitled to you, it all seems a little...contradictory.

Epicureanism and the parents of the nihilist movement will give you some insight into what I am saying.

[Bitcoin Oz]

If you have a birth  certificate you are already a slave.