You must learn to work the system, or the system will work you.

We all live in interesting times, and by now most of us know why that would be a curse. The trick is to find your own peace within the chaos or learn to ride the beast. Lately I've been trying to ride the beast by staying up-to-date in global social matters such as the Occupy Movement, national politics, economics, and popular science. For the most part, I seem to be learning how it works and increasing my status according to the measurements available to me. I am trying to write more regularly about things people are reading about. I pass along links to the most interesting articles I read. I've joined Klout.com (send me +K), use Facebook regularly (I'm a member of 3 groups), Tweet fairly frequently on Twitter (I did a constant feed of the eviction of Occupy LA), and of course write blogs on Blogger. But in the middle of all the chaos, I find that I'm not really moving toward any of my more profound goals in life. I still want to live in the America that all my elementary school teachers promised to me.

Social interation isn't my strongest skill. I've spent enough time practicing that most people can't tell it doesn't come naturally to me (I think). When I sit down at my computer to read and write, I'm free from having to come up with the best responses on the fly. I can take my time to think out what I do and adjust it to acheive the best outcome I can. I'm still overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of social life at times.

While reading political articles, sometimes my blood starts to boil and I get so mad at people that I go off on rants (which sometimes get posted as blogs or other updates). For example, the NDAA and SOPA/PIPA legislation could affect me directly in a way that was rarely before possible for law. I'm aware of the law, of course, but only in a general sense of what is and is not allowed. Simply knowing exactly what could go wrong with certain laws is extremely frightening. If I were to study law, I'd probably find many more things that are deeply disturbing... and in places I wouldn't have thought possible.

The Occupy movement is very powerful in that the generally agreed upon arguments show practices which are quite contrary to what I have been taught are good. Four hundred people in this country make a full fifth of the total personal income. Half of the entire population put together the same amount. Many people have many different ideas about how to run the country, but the few richest people have by far the most influence on actual policy. That's not how democracy is supposed to work. If you quote teh constitution to a police officer or protest against the current practices of government, you could be labeled a terrorist and sent off to Guantanamo Bay for indefinite detention. I couldn't make any of this up if I tried.

In the mean time, some people have lost trust for one of the world's best educated populations. Science based medicine is losing popularity because a few people have figured out they can get rich quick off of supposed miracle cures. They paint doctors as evil compassionless monsters that won't try to save you or your children because it gives them pleasure to watch you die. These quacks are more heartless than an amoeba and will gladly tell you whatever lie you want in order to scare you away from science and out of your money. They sell inefective and often dangerous treatments at outrageous prices and then tell other people what a wonderful success they've had as they let you die poor, broken, and scared.

In the midst of all the pain and suffering I read about, all the stupidity and lies, all the misguided altruism and well meaning exposure, I find it hard to step back and realize how much this is really affecting me. It may be selfish to say so, but I've learned that if I don't look out for myself, others will look out for me in ways that benefit them more than myself. Even if a law passes that would surely put me in jail, I only have one thing to worry about. I may not like the way things are run, but until I'm the one running things, I've got to play it cool. That doesn't mean keeping my head down and doing what I'm told, it simply means that it is better to appear to do so while fighting hard for myself. As Robert A. Heinlein says, “I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.”

I will carve my living out of thin air, construct a castle of my imagination, and live as I want to live whether you want me to or not. You can't stop me. No law can rob me of my ultimate freedom. If I get taken to jail it will be because of one thing: I got caught. That's the number one rule to living as you please: Don't get caught. I have the power and the intelligence to make decisions about my life that work well for me. I can tell the difference between real medicine and quakery. I understand the power of science and what it stands for. I have the power of reason with which to discover the world around me. Success is living free each and every day; improving myself and my status is excellence. I would pity those who do not have these powers and freedoms, but the truth is that everyone has them. Everyone has the power to choose reason over insanity, freedom over slavery, truth over lies. With only a little effort, anyone can think their way through a problem. I can have no pity for those who choose ignorance, for those who choose blindness, for those who choose slavery.

This is where I find my comfort, in the knowledge that I have the power. This is why I don't need anyone to tell me what my values should be, how I should act, and what I can and can't do. If I interpret reality incorrectly, reality imposes itself on me to correct my misconceptions. Reality is a harsh teacher and the castles that humans carve ito it harsher still. By realizing this, I can better prepare myself for my encounters with it. I can defend myself and even attack with the knowledge I gain by my explorations.

Violently the world thrusts itself into our lives, and violently we shape it to our own desires. Peace comes with sufficient lebensraum. In life we often crowd each other closely and we may make space for ourselves within the other's lebensraum, absorb them into our own, or wage war at the border to keep the spaces separate. My space is defined by scientific advance, psychological principles, and my ever strengthening philosophy and system of beliefs. I most violently reject any space defined by rigid values dictated by a third party, such as most religions and politics.