There’s this sad trend going around everywhere. Maybe it’s just me, but people are abusing the power of writing. It’s becoming an epidemic where people are just writing about random stuff full of things which aren't even useful. And we gobble it all up. We all love the seduction. Someone has a solution in five steps, we go click on that article. Even better is to find reasons for finding reasons for finding reasons. We ask questions but don’t want to peer too deep lest our egos get shattered into a million broken shards. Everyone’s sensitive these days. And not in a good way. It’s kindness which seems suspicious maybe because it’s unearned. Or is the trend becoming “everyone must be happy all the time?” That in itself is disturbing.

Optimism running rampant isn’t helpful. It blinds you to focus on positives, while sidestepping negatives. It’s the same way con men believe they are entitled to steal from anyone as long as they won’t get caught. And there’s no limit imposed. It’s an easy thing, letting anyone manipulate you. People survive better that way. Obey, serve. Don’t ask, don’t tell. Keep silent and it’ll all pass.

The internet may be a powerful communication tool but for a thousand useful websites, there are billions which are only there to extort, impose and distract. The bad part is a lot allow themselves to be hoodwinked, bamboozled and betrayed. They’re open, honest and optimistic. Perfect suckers always make perfect victims.

In a world full of lies, truth is now inconceivable. Since everyone has grown accustomed to the wrong mistreatments, even the urgency of the news seems dull and repetitive. The same stories wearing different stripes, saying the same things like some broken record. And the tunes analyze, analyze and analyze, offering no solutions, considering how radical individuals are always shunned soon as they offer alternatives.

Those few, who seem too smart, too eccentric, too odd or strange, hide their worth. Men and women who know don’t need the adoration of the masses. They prefer working alone, or within the confines of small groups of like-minded individuals who are still cooking up a bright dream for a brighter future.

Given the current political climate, the odds of their success are zero to one. What if some of these bright minds were minorities or women, or even from the LGBT community? Would people look at the person or their idea? Would they judge their talents based on color or merit? Can we? If only a few are privileged, then what happens to those with skills who aren’t given a chance? Who benefits if they aren’t? For all our claims of tolerance, there’s no true acceptance.

A culture built on narcissism soon fails after the mirror shatters. And all that’s left is a gaping hole, empty, desolate and hollow as values both hypocritical and critical of everything, even the ones which are ironclad. It’s as if we are scrutinizing ourselves to death. What’s the point? Before we can think, the powers-that-be have already spoonfed us with lies full of crap and shit. Distraction leading to another distraction and so on and on it goes. No end, no beginning. Everyone’s guilty, even me.

No one prefers violence. It’s something taught into us. Mainstream media glorifies it. News stories neutralize it. But no one condemns it. Except a few in the academia whose words seem hollow since they haven’t experienced what they tell. Some spout out garbage outright. No apologies, given or accepted. Trust is hard. The constant abuse suffered by those who wanted to save lives have turned would-be heroes into hiding.

The renaissance was centuries ago. The only freedom given these days is obedience. Choose servitude or get plunged from depression to despair. Both, however, are connected. And one cannot exist without the other. See, heroes tend to make a mess of things. They can’t be bought, manipulated or whipped into submission, which makes them dangerous to gods. They are constant thorns, sharp and brittle, which stem out of dead flowers living on waste lands. Even in dump sites, anyone can become a pain in the neck. And what we got, in these troubling times, is a system which denies men and women of their merit, turning each and everyone into a statistic which can be molded and shaped according to the policies in place. If that fails, they meet demise sooner. Total isolation becomes the punishment. In jail, that’s the worst case scenario. Outside, it’s celebrated. The only difference between a house and a cell is a house is prettier, wider, with more distractions and things to do. They’re essentially cages. Want a place to have children or be alone together with a lover? Buy an apartment. A smaller house with enough space for just staying in bed and incentivized so leaving and exploring become burdens. Give them a job which requires someone to focus on only one thing and you have made slaves who don’t see they are enslaved. Bombard them with distraction, and their focus will become more acute. Burn, cut, destroy, separate, divide. Inflict and deride anything and everything which seems strange, weird, offbeat and you have made a culture built on fear, feeding it and spewing it, where new is no longer celebrated and old ideas are continually justified. Hammered into our skulls again and again from books, media and all other forms of communication. Ironic how in the age of communication, there’s so little thinking going on while a lot of noise is worshipped as if traffic is inevitable. It’s not. It’s a human construction done by humans who didn’t calculate, who go blind at the mention of mathematics. And those who profess their love of numbers aren’t even gifted. They followed the system and got A’s from it. They neither explored nor dared break new ground. They only added something. No one wants a tabula rasa. But a fresh beginning is what is needed.

However, the gatekeepers don’t want to lose the domain they have long elevated. To admit their mistake is to turn them human. And politicians always think they are perfect, that they embody ideals worth fighting for, even against the disapproval of a million howling voices. Isn’t that the definition of a terrorist? One who is blind except to the ideals they worship? The hypocrisy is deafening. And many still wonder when distrust and partner discord became the symbols of progress. Moments are becoming unbearable. There is too much burden, too much being squeezed out of those who have integrity. Maybe because they are the ones who are dangerous, especially the learned ones, who don’t back down but question every move like a chess player who has a king or a queen and no army, as each one has defected by default. It’s not surprising. Desperation breeds out morals. Especially when power is dictated by how many numbers one has in their bank accounts. If things remain ignored, there might not be anymore freedom and what once started out as a place brimming with ideals, hope and a bright future will have dimmed and lost what made it special in the first place.