(Adapted from a Facebook status.)
Awright, I'm gonna say it.
You who are expending precious electrons on social media debating whether preserving the Second Amendment is more important than saving children's lives or vice versa: You are all correct. And at the same time, you are all wrong.
You may have all the right arguments on this particular issue, but if you don't present them in context, you're missing a lot. (Sadly, context often complicates matters beyond most people's comprehension.)
When you look at these events intersectionally, it's hard not to see parallels with the continuing opioid crisis. Every year, tens of thousands die from overdoses of chemicals they take to kill their physical or psychic pain. People ingest these chemicals despite the risk of death, because death would actually come as a blessed relief.
After all, life is beautiful and precious, but living is painful and expensive.
Meanwhile, Big Pharma is making huge profits from these people's pain and addictions.
Meanwhile, Big Defense is making huge profits from continuous war.
Meanwhile, Big Fast Food is making huge profits from people's addiction to grease, salt, sugar; Big Pharma also cashes in here from the resulting heart disease and cancer.
Meanwhile, Big Firearms is making huge profits from Americans' fear of the Other and the resulting addiction to weaponry.
Capitalism runs on the profit motive. The Corporate State, addicted as it is to Growth At Any Cost, & its media lackeys stoke our addictions by keeping us in fear. It creates the illusion of scarcity & inadequacy, creating need where there was none, to keep consumers striving to get their share. This constant state of anxiety activates your lizard brain, which says MUST GET THAT LIMITED QUANTITY OF FOOD/SHELTER/SEX BEFORE THOSE GUYS DO! This releases the stress hormones that make us reach for whatever will soothe us: food, liquor, drugs, guns, sex, video games, etc.
Capitalism has only one value: shareholder value. Capitalism doesn't give a flying fuck who dies, as long as there's money in it.
Awright, I'm gonna say it.
You who are expending precious electrons on social media debating whether preserving the Second Amendment is more important than saving children's lives or vice versa: You are all correct. And at the same time, you are all wrong.
You may have all the right arguments on this particular issue, but if you don't present them in context, you're missing a lot. (Sadly, context often complicates matters beyond most people's comprehension.)
When you look at these events intersectionally, it's hard not to see parallels with the continuing opioid crisis. Every year, tens of thousands die from overdoses of chemicals they take to kill their physical or psychic pain. People ingest these chemicals despite the risk of death, because death would actually come as a blessed relief.
After all, life is beautiful and precious, but living is painful and expensive.
Meanwhile, Big Pharma is making huge profits from these people's pain and addictions.
Meanwhile, Big Defense is making huge profits from continuous war.
Meanwhile, Big Fast Food is making huge profits from people's addiction to grease, salt, sugar; Big Pharma also cashes in here from the resulting heart disease and cancer.
Meanwhile, Big Firearms is making huge profits from Americans' fear of the Other and the resulting addiction to weaponry.
Capitalism runs on the profit motive. The Corporate State, addicted as it is to Growth At Any Cost, & its media lackeys stoke our addictions by keeping us in fear. It creates the illusion of scarcity & inadequacy, creating need where there was none, to keep consumers striving to get their share. This constant state of anxiety activates your lizard brain, which says MUST GET THAT LIMITED QUANTITY OF FOOD/SHELTER/SEX BEFORE THOSE GUYS DO! This releases the stress hormones that make us reach for whatever will soothe us: food, liquor, drugs, guns, sex, video games, etc.
Capitalism has only one value: shareholder value. Capitalism doesn't give a flying fuck who dies, as long as there's money in it.
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