We Are Already Slaves

Slavery in the U.S. no longer exists in the literal sense, but that doesn’t mean our lives are completely free. We work all day (and all our lives) so that we can buy things that we’ll never have the time to use. We stress ourselves to buy products that promise to make us happier. We all grow up being prepped for, and eventually running, the rat race. But like they say, even if you win the rat race, you’re still a rat.

When you’re a child, you get a precious five years to play and enjoy your life before it ends. After the five years are up, you are immediately thrust into a school where you must struggle to finish all tasks given to you while competing with other students. You spend at least 16 years (if you go with college) working your ass off, so that when you leave the school, you can continue to work your ass off.

Now by the time you’re an adult, you continue to work. If you have a low paying job, you work hard so that you can continue to live. If you have a high paying job, you also continue to work so that you can buy more stuff. It’s the way our society is now. Our society tells us that to be happy, we must keep working so that we can buy bigger and better things.

So you wake up every morning to the dreaded alarm clock, go to work, grab some take-out, and come home. Then you have one or two hours to rest, which are probably spent in front of a television or computer. And of course you have to keep fit, so you go to the gym and exercise a bit. Kind of like a hamster running around. Do you get my point? We are slaves of society.

We follow the same routine every day, and that routine is set by society. Why do we follow it? So that we can buy more things that promise to make us happier. But it never does. Because the market is always changing so we keep wanting the newest thing. But true happiness comes from those around you. Instead of working your ass off for The Man, go enjoy the fresh air with your friends and family.

Note: The book Affluenza: The All Consuming Epidemic is very insightful book on this subject.