Paschal Beverly Randolph and John Trudell

"I guess I'll just start with Columbus, see I have a real problem about all of this, to me he was like a virus, a disease, see there's this predator energy on this planet and this predator energy feeds on the essence of the spirit, feeds on the essence of the human being, the spirit, the mining of the essence, the mining of the spirit, mining our minds, the pollution from that is all of the neurotic, distorted, insecure behavior patterns that we develop. Because in order for this predatory system, this disease to work we must not be able to use our minds in a clear coherent manner." John Trudell Columbus day interview 1992

"We must not be able to use our minds in a clear coherent manner". That's it isn't it? The fundamental premise upon which "civilization" is based. In order for any structured society to exist there must be a constant 'resetting to zero' of any awareness one might gain of the absurdity of our surroundings. Let us analyze the existence of civilized man on planet earth as an alien anthropologist would. Let us begin with the basic goals held up to be universal: career, home ownership, and respect of one's fellow civilized man.

"Career" is an Orwellian term embodying the most blatant type of deception. It is a euphemism for spending the vast majority of one's waking moments toiling away at, commuting to, thinking about, or searching for an arbitrarily categorized series of actions which not only contribute nothing to one's personal growth but often contribute nothing to the system which relies so heavily on those contributions.


This very exercise in meaninglessness, the repetitive, endless routine which deadens the soul and aborts the question "why" in the proverbial intellectual womb is the foundation upon which all other deception is built.

For 13, 17, sometimes 20 years or more we are programmed by an unthinking, unfeeling bureaucracy to submit and obey, to toe the line, not rock the boat, not be a trouble maker and above all not ask a child's most fundamental response to every command "why?". Because I said so, because your teacher said so, because the government said so, because our version of god said so, these our the answers we grow accustomed to expect until eventually the very ability to mentally form the question "why" is removed from our mind.

Why should I spend all my time working while strangers care for my children?
Why should I go to school to learn nothing useful?
Why should I spend 30 years paying for a dwelling that I could build in a matter of months with my own two hands with the most rudimentary training?
Why is none of the time I spend in educational institutions devoted to teaching me how to build a home, grow food, repair an engine, build a vehicle, think creatively?

The answer to every question is the same. Because the system has no use for independent men. An independent man is at best neutral to the system and at worst its greatest enemy. An independent man thinks about the orders he is given by society, questions them and most likely disobeys them. If you were trained to build your own home, grow your own food, repair your own vehicles, and think creatively you would never settle for a meaningless job at slave wages, a crippling mortgage or rent payment, buying everything on installment in a never ending cycle of debt and partial repayment that ends only with your death.

Wars, political struggles, debates about health care, capitalism versus socialism, the Super Bowl, video games, TV, radio, newspapers, the internet are all an endless stream of meaninglessness to distract you from the simple truth that you are a slave to a system which has a single goal: to perpetuate itself.

Breathe deeply, look at the sky and the earth that will be here long after all this meaningless is gone, feel your connection to the universe, and know the simple fact that you have all that you need already, and your journey to freedom will begin.