Rapt

Friends:

I want to present a conspiracy theory which I think has as much merit as anything else I’ve seen on social:

BUT I don’t want to do it to contribute to anxiety (at least not directly) because first of all, it’s a quasi-positive theory; and second, I want to build on it to explore a darker side of something else which we’ve been hearing a lot about, but whose whole picture isn’t discussed.

I’ll get to it:

Assuming that there are strings being pulled at a high level, and that 5G, Covid, Tiger King, et al are smoke and/or mirrors, it occurs to me that the forced quarantine has less to do with safety and more to do with conditioning -priming- people for a post-employment world (PEW). For example, the benefits programs which are being enacted seem like a pilot program for universal basic income (UBI) and even staunch opponents of such government “handouts” are being mollified into accepting it when the stakes are theoretically raised by a plague. Slowly, as we sit at home and begin receiving money, we will become more accepting of the PEW.

One major objection to UBI is where the money for it comes from, however we can’t talk about that without a larger convo about central banking, FRB, fiat currency, etc., and that is beyond the scope of this post.

The second major criticism of UBI is, “What will people do with their time? (Probably become fat, lazy blobs…)” We’re seeing this answer play out now: some are catching up with loved ones, others are developing hobbies, some are venting online (🙋‍♂️), and some are reporting on their neighbours. Most notably, the cream of society is doing what it always does -rising- and, without getting too eschatological, I don’t think we would be speaking too recklessly in comparing this to a rapture of sorts. Some will rise; most will not?

But I digress, because this UBI talk should received as a blessing; our level of technology is poised to displace most workers and this is simply the first flow of that tide. S

o rejoice, right?

Well, here’s where it gets dark: If we do become dependant on governments for payments rather than earning our living, we threaten to atrophy and erode what sense of individual autonomy we still have left. Being financially dependant on an institution makes us much less likely to meaningfully challenge that institution; assuming we aren’t already paralyzed with fear by the thought.

If the hand is feeding us, we can’t bite it, and I think this is an oft-under-appreciated negative externality of UBI. What if we rely on government money and our behaviour is deemed overtly anti-state? Do we get cut off?

It’s possible.

Yet even if you think that overtly anti-state behaviour is worth cutting someone off for, that self-same technological advancement which displaced us from our jobs is also poised to passively track all of our movements, habits and purchases and rate us on an unknown algorithm as the threat we might possibly manifest one day; like boner-killing menage between social-credit, the PATRIOT Act and Minority Report.

We may very well see ourselves get “cut off” for a cumulative set of behaviours which, though innocuous in isolation, together culminate into a problematic profile. Or, if not cut off entirely, then have our wings clipped through travel limitations, higher fees for services, etc. as we see happening more and more in China.

I don’t know what I think about this whole situation but I’ve expressed the following sentiment to close friends and I hope it brings you some comfort: If our situation is shit, then know that it has never not been shit. By that rationale, it’s as good as its ever been and we KNOW it could be so much worse.

When it seems like things “above us” are pushing “down” on u, we must remember that if we are properly oriented (upward) toward our highest ideals obstacles don’t (can’t) come from above -they can only approach from the side. It is only when we take our eyes off that highest value and cower from the lateral threats that they appear to tower over and dominate us. But, if we keep focus upward then we will navigate the vicissitudes of life like we always have: in suffering, in pain, with death, and -if we keep focused upward- maybe with some success.

Don’t be they guy on the bottom. It’s rapture, baby; rise or get risen over.

Best,
-Dre