Venting We were meant to be free but instead we are enslaved by the government

[Darkover]

We were meant to be free, born into a world where our potential should have known no bounds, where each individual could live unburdened by external control. But somewhere along the way, we became ensnared in a system that thrives on our submission, a web of power and control that keeps us from experiencing true liberty. The promise of freedom, a natural right, is constantly undermined by forces far greater than any individual will.

The government, the great enforcer of society, weaves its grip around us with rules and regulations designed not to protect, but to constrain. It dictates how we live, how we work, how we think, and even how we are allowed to die. We are told what to value, what to fear, what to desire—shaped into obedient citizens, not to pursue our own happiness or dreams, but to serve the greater machinery of control. We're conditioned to believe that we're free, that the choices we make are our own. Yet every decision, every action is influenced or directed by a system that profits from our conformity.

Every law is a chain. Every policy is a lock. The very freedoms we were supposed to have are slowly chipped away, replaced with a bureaucracy that serves itself rather than the people. We're told to work, to strive, to build the economy, but in doing so, we've become cogs in a machine that's indifferent to our suffering. We're left with no room to breathe, to explore, to create a life on our own terms.

We are subjected to a system that thrives on our labor, using our energy, our time, and our skills to keep the wheels of power turning. In return, we receive a fraction of what we put in—a wage barely enough to survive, a life where joy is fleeting and freedom is a distant dream. Our minds are consumed by the need to survive, to pay bills, to conform to societal expectations, while the true essence of freedom remains out of reach.

The government enforces its control not just with laws, but with the manipulation of the masses—through media, education, and social pressures that tell us what to think and how to live. It creates a system of dependency, making us believe we need its structure to function, when in reality, it's the very thing that holds us down.

The illusion of choice is the cruelest form of control. We are given options, but these options are shaped by the system, leaving little room for true self-determination. The notion of freedom becomes twisted—freedom to comply, freedom to work, freedom to exist within the confines of a system that doesn't allow us to truly live.

We were meant to be free, but now we are bound by the chains of authority, our autonomy stripped away. We were born with the capacity to shape our own destinies, but the government has placed limits on that potential, turning us into slaves of a system that benefits the few while exploiting the many. The dream of freedom feels distant, and we are left to wonder if we will ever be able to break the chains that bind us to this oppressive reality.

 

[cme-dme]

I'm not as poetic as you are so I would struggle to give a good response but I love your posts. It seems like humanity is destined to forever be under the control of others. Real freedom is a pipe dream. The only real difference between an oligarchy and a democracy is that one gives you the illusion of choice better and the other.

 

[Forever Sleep]

I've thought about this before. Especially when I've thought how oppressive governments can be. How much power and influence corporations have. It all seems so unatural.

Still... If you look at our closest relatives- chimps I suppose. They don't exactly seem to live in equal, harmonious societies either. There is a strict pecking order. There are power struggles, exploitation, cunning and cruelty. I'm not so sure- even if we were rolled back multiple generations- whether you still wouldn't see one group of people trying to subjugate another.

I think sometimes people have a romantic view of nature. Of everything living in harmony. I think everything is just fighting to survive and- if it works out a way of doing that via exploiting something or someone else, it will do it.

Like- symbiotic relationships sound nice- right? The clownfish and anemone. Except, the clown fishes colours also attract other fish towards the anemone that stings and eats them. They didn't show that bit in 'Finding Nemo'!

I suppose I simply see the cruelty in the natural world mirrored in the human world. We've simply found more clever/ sly ways of doing it.

 

[pollux]

There is no freedom without order

 

[Darkover]

I've thought about this before. Especially when I've thought how oppressive governments can be. How much power and influence corporations have. It all seems so unatural.

Still... If you look at our closest relatives- chimps I suppose. They don't exactly seem to live in equal, harmonious societies either. There is a strict pecking order. There are power struggles, exploitation, cunning and cruelty. I'm not so sure- even if we were rolled back multiple generations- whether you still wouldn't see one group of people trying to subjugate another.

I think sometimes people have a romantic view of nature. Of everything living in harmony. I think everything is just fighting to survive and- if it works out a way of doing that via exploiting something or someone else, it will do it.

Like- symbiotic relationships sound nice- right? The clownfish and anemone. Except, the clown fishes colours also attract other fish towards the anemone that stings and eats them. They didn't show that bit in 'Finding Nemo'!

I suppose I simply see the cruelty in the natural world mirrored in the human world. We've simply found more clever/ sly ways of doing it.

Humans have just made these dynamics more complex and institutionalized. Governments, corporations, and economic systems are, in a way, just highly evolved versions of the dominance hierarchies seen in animals. We've refined exploitation into something more structured, often wrapped in the illusion of fairness or freedom.

the real question is: is there any way out of this? Or is every possible system doomed to fall back into these patterns of control and exploitation, just in different forms?

There is no freedom without order

That's true—absolute freedom without any structure would just lead to chaos, where the strong dominate the weak in an even more brutal way. Some level of order is necessary to protect people from each other, but the problem is that order often turns into control, and control turns into oppression.

It's a balancing act. Too much freedom, and society collapses into anarchy where the most ruthless take over. Too much order, and you end up in a system where people are little more than cogs in a machine, stripped of autonomy. The question is: Who gets to decide where the balance lies? Because those in power will always push it in their favor.

 

[Pluto]

 

[missedmybus]

If I'm not allowed to legally piss against a tree, that's already where my freedoms are being restricted.

That's such a basic thing, and somehow it is illegal. A dog can piss against a tree, but I'm not allowed?

 

[4everHeartBroken]

We were meant to be free, born into a world where our potential should have known no bounds, where each individual could live unburdened by external control. But somewhere along the way, we became ensnared in a system that thrives on our submission, a web of power and control that keeps us from experiencing true liberty. The promise of freedom, a natural right, is constantly undermined by forces far greater than any individual will.

The government, the great enforcer of society, weaves its grip around us with rules and regulations designed not to protect, but to constrain. It dictates how we live, how we work, how we think, and even how we are allowed to die. We are told what to value, what to fear, what to desire—shaped into obedient citizens, not to pursue our own happiness or dreams, but to serve the greater machinery of control. We're conditioned to believe that we're free, that the choices we make are our own. Yet every decision, every action is influenced or directed by a system that profits from our conformity.

Every law is a chain. Every policy is a lock. The very freedoms we were supposed to have are slowly chipped away, replaced with a bureaucracy that serves itself rather than the people. We're told to work, to strive, to build the economy, but in doing so, we've become cogs in a machine that's indifferent to our suffering. We're left with no room to breathe, to explore, to create a life on our own terms.

We are subjected to a system that thrives on our labor, using our energy, our time, and our skills to keep the wheels of power turning. In return, we receive a fraction of what we put in—a wage barely enough to survive, a life where joy is fleeting and freedom is a distant dream. Our minds are consumed by the need to survive, to pay bills, to conform to societal expectations, while the true essence of freedom remains out of reach.

The government enforces its control not just with laws, but with the manipulation of the masses—through media, education, and social pressures that tell us what to think and how to live. It creates a system of dependency, making us believe we need its structure to function, when in reality, it's the very thing that holds us down.

The illusion of choice is the cruelest form of control. We are given options, but these options are shaped by the system, leaving little room for true self-determination. The notion of freedom becomes twisted—freedom to comply, freedom to work, freedom to exist within the confines of a system that doesn't allow us to truly live.

We were meant to be free, but now we are bound by the chains of authority, our autonomy stripped away. We were born with the capacity to shape our own destinies, but the government has placed limits on that potential, turning us into slaves of a system that benefits the few while exploiting the many. The dream of freedom feels distant, and we are left to wonder if we will ever be able to break the chains that bind us to this oppressive reality.

I get lost in reading your posts. I feel the same with so many of the things you've posted. You bring up some very interesting topics.

Humans have just made these dynamics more complex and institutionalized. Governments, corporations, and economic systems are, in a way, just highly evolved versions of the dominance hierarchies seen in animals. We've refined exploitation into something more structured, often wrapped in the illusion of fairness or freedom.

the real question is: is there any way out of this? Or is every possible system doomed to fall back into these patterns of control and exploitation, just in different forms?


That's true—absolute freedom without any structure would just lead to chaos, where the strong dominate the weak in an even more brutal way. Some level of order is necessary to protect people from each other, but the problem is that order often turns into control, and control turns into oppression.

It's a balancing act. Too much freedom, and society collapses into anarchy where the most ruthless take over. Too much order, and you end up in a system where people are little more than cogs in a machine, stripped of autonomy. The question is: Who gets to decide where the balance lies? Because those in power will always push it in their favor.

I believe it's the rich who get to decide where the "balance" lies… for centuries.