Originally posted on LANDBACK Friends: I used to go to Washington, DC, annually to attend meetings of Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL). I looked forward to taking photos there.

Martin Luther King, Jr, Memorial — Ned Hamson’s Second Line View of the News

I don’t waste a lot of time on political news, generally. However, a thought has been nagging me for some time. If we go as far back in the recorded history of mankind, a question might itch your conscious, which will only go away if you scratch it. This question in my mind is- How could only a handful of people rule over the masses? It’s not just in one part, or one country in the world, but it’s a global story of the common man! So, what’s the reason? Could it be because only a few of the human race are clever, and the rest of the masses are intellectually challenged?
Let’s explore this possibility with a few historical examples. The first known Egyptian Pharoah, Menes, gained the title of ‘Lord of the two lands’. Why? Because he united the upper and the lower Egypt as one. I understand that militarily or politically, a visionary who makes a mega impact on the current history will be upheld in reverence and would be bestowed with certain perks and positions by the less prominent people of society. From the rest, only a few might be fortunate to be decorated with individual medals or titles, but most soldiers would be praised collectively as a regiment. But does that mean that a General or a Marshall or an Admiral should become divine?! ( as the pharaohs did)  This is crazy! Now, their mummies are crumbling despite the best efforts to preserve them for eternity.
The World perpetuated this nonsense further, with the help of most of us! Shocking! Monarchies around the world have been the reason for a lot of misery to all living beings, especially to the social fabric of camaraderie. How? Well, by creating a class system at various levels, putting individuals in specific financial groups with further sub-divisions. In case of shortage of food in the country, the peasants couldn’t even find rotten potatoes, but so long the empress was stuffing her face with cakes! Such is our dedication to the nonsense we’ve created- we lay our heads under their feet to be trodden without much effort.
The World perpetuated this nonsense further. With the industrial revolution, as we are taught, we’ve become ‘civilised’, and trade has diversified with the exploration of resources since. Mother earth has been raped and plundered of all her treasures, while we the defeatist children been busy licking own wounds; we are the victims of exploitation by the few but stronger siblings and cousins. Really? Aren’t we more in numbers? Can’t we join hands to match the strength of the foe? Yes, in theory, we could, but it’s too much work. It’s easier to follow than to lead, easier to comply than to protest. So, the choice is simple, when the conscious is stifled.   
The World perpetuated this nonsense further. With industrialisation, business and life’s materialistic standards shot up. And so did our avarice for choice. Quantity took over the quality of consumerism. The Kings, the Queens, the so-called Royals- in fact, the entire paedophilic and incestuous cesspool of humanity has been replaced with another form of aristocracy, called Capitalism. The social structure fundamentally remains the same – The shape of the Pyramid.
The poor are not just poor at the same level but are known by different ‘types’ of poverty – Absolute Poverty, Relative Poverty, Situational Poverty, Generational Poverty, Rural Poverty, and Urban Poverty.
Similarly, the rich have types too. A millionaire is looked down upon by the multi- millionaire, who might be considered inferior to a billionaire, but then there is a multi-billionaire who’ll look up to a trillionaire!!! Frankly, my dictionary is now exhausted, but you get the gist.
The world perpetuated even this nonsense further. There are still only a few ‘…naires’ vs rest of human conglomeration, working for them. The singular Noun controls the plural pronouns in society. The most dangerous tool of Capitalist machinery is the Politician. They oil one another’s needs and stand in solidarity against the entire populace. When the ‘masses’ accept this system, it is called Democracy. Do you know what the weapon of mass destruction for the Poor at all levels is? The Law, which is remote for the down-trodden, but powerful enough to enforce order. Even natural disasters like pandemic impact the ‘masses’ more – physically and psychologically. The Capitalist Tool orders the Weapon of mass Destruction to enforce lockdown on the down trodden, while Capitalists, the Dangerous Tools and the Weapons of Mass Destruction have a swooning party (an excerpt from current affairs of UK). This nonsense travels beyond the borders too- if a country wants to stand on it’s own two feet, every such foot is broken by bribing the local Dangerous Tools who would use the Weapon of Mass Destruction to stop a life that strives to live with dignity. It’s not that just the western world is Capitalist enough to dictate the democratic principle in the world, and enforce sanctions in case of non-compliance. The Indian polity is like an encyclopedia of ways to force marry democracy and sanctions in the name of law and order, and unleash the force of engineered democracy on the voting public. The Dangerous Tools and the Weapon of Mass Destruction are so very efficient here. The Corporates are the new Maharajas and the Political gang the Wazir.
The World carries on perpetuating all this nonsense further. You know why? Because, the mass of humanity is short sighted, selfish, cowards, and dependent. We rushed to panic buy even toilet rolls during Covid, even though someone else’s backside might have needed it more! We are obedient followers like the sheep, as to think is too much effort. We all wear the trend set by the few corporates, eat whatever cooks in their factory and think whatever the SEO want us to.
It’s us, the common people who have let this nonsense come this far. But we were not always like this. What happened? We are intoxicated with the pace of fast food, auto-technology, remote controlled life, and mobile phone relationships. We have forgotten the use of our faculties. While we are turning in to robots on self-destruct mode, our Capitalist Masters are planning to subjugate yet another poor planet. God forbids. So who would control us, once the Masters leave? Before panic sets in our system like Rigor mortis, we should know that we would be controlled by our new masters, who from Dangerous Tools would have turned into zombies, due to serving the Capitalist for so long. OR could we reverse the ill-effects of this deadly spell? But how? First of all, we need to go back to the drawing board as human beings. Learn the definition of being human again. Recognise our ‘real’ needs and fulfill them diligently and honestly. Have empathy for others. Put the expectation for too much choice on a tighter leash. Learn to be satisfied. Gather strength to oppose the unjust pressure of capitalism. Resist the temporary joys – dreams are only sleep long; so wake up. Technology is not bad in itself, but the politics around it and our expectations bring the worse out of it. Use your vote carefully by considering the greater good, rather than misplaced loyalties and trust.
Remember, ‘they’ are only a few, and ‘we’ are the massive Masses.