Corrupt Institutions
Better late than never, I suppose. You can see it people’s demeanor that they are beginning to recognize the corrupt institutions.
You can overhear it in conversations at the store or in the streets. More people are waking up. From 2016-2020, politics overrode our collective operating systems. There were still too many people attached and plugged in. Repeating bullet points from cable news shows. Taking out massive student loans. Asking for “authorities” to fix communities with tax dollars.
Seeking healthcare treatment to make a pain or ailment go away right now and not seeking the habits that would ever prevent the pain from coming back again. Putting off a trip or even a day with family because the TPS report is
due by Friday at 5pm. And outsourcing our own ability to stand up for ourselves; looking to others for solutions
while wondering why the other side just doesn’t “get it” or see the world the way we do through our own lens.
Now? The conversation has shifted more than ever; rooting for ANY politician over your neighbor or friend is to
root for corruption or power-hungry individuals. Cable news ratings have absolutely tanked across the board.
Homeschooling has made a prominent comeback (in rhetoric); many youngsters are being persuaded to pick up
skills via YouTube/online learning, apprenticeships or trade skills vs. mortgaging their future at university.
On the topic of paying the government more tax revenue? People are starting community-based organizations,
moving to states with no state tax; starting podcasts, businesses, online retail. And beginning to seek out health
professionals to aid them in taking care of their bodies… not fixing today’s ailment.
This is a scary proposition though. Once you begin to realize that our institutions have gotten too big and are
not incentivized to serve their original purpose, the realization hits that you’re now staring into the abyss.
You’re on your own. You need to start over and recalibrate.
Freedom is beautiful, but freedom is daunting.
The feeling of elation you felt because you’re seeing the truth begins to wane. Why? Because all you really know is
that things are not working anymore for the benefit of the people. Yet, you have no clue where to begin.
Many people get on social media and start commenting on every little slight an influencer or corporate media
personality puts out into the Zuckerberg Metaverse. Some start showing up at protests, writing letters to local
government officials, or complaining about policies at schoolboard and PTA meetings. It FEELS like you’re doing
something. You’re taking action. You see it. You just need others to see it with you.
Opinion time: you’re barking up the wrong tree. The institutions are too big, too corrupt and too well
protected. They’ve built the high walls of Troy and dare anyone to attempt a rush at the gate. It’s a waste of
time and energy. And this is when people become black pilled. They lose hope. The task is too tall.
So, what’s a man to do? Use “OUR” advantages against the institutions. Build smaller but well-connected and
nimble institutions (more like actual communities). Solve the problems the institutions are supposed to be
solving; just do it on a smaller, more local scale. And then network, share your message. Curate and learn from
others doing the same. Compete. Don’t attack. The ROI on your energy is just not there.
If the last 4 years have taught you nothing, then let’s take a look at 6 major institutions – in a 2-part series by
yours truly – that have aided in the fracturing of national cohesiveness. Strictly opinion, so save the fact
checking and semantics for someone else. But much more importantly, let’s get inspired on the potential solves
that are being built.
Don't fix the corrupt institutions. Compete with them and form your own.
Finance
The wealth gap has increased.
Federal deficit and government spending is out of control. “All-time highs” don’t even do the phrase justice. In
conversation, we throw “trillions” around as casually as we do “hellos and goodbyes”. The nation goes on
furlough and unemployment for 12 months. The fed prints money. And then major financial institutions buy up
all the affordable housing in up-and-coming neighborhoods (ahem, Blackrock); houses are taken off the market
for the common man and now the bank is set up for a steady cash flow through inflated rent for decades… shit,
centuries.
The middle-class working man now has to chase the corporate promotion, work a second job or live
well below his means before he even sniffs the possibility of home ownership. Meanwhile, pricing of goods
shoot up faster than the cost of living raises that your employer can grant. And your dollar becomes weaker
and weaker.
We’re not going to fix the root of this one. Especially in the US. We are the global reserve currency. The dollar
isn’t going anywhere. But the percentage of net worth via the dollar is concentrating in smaller and smaller
pools of investors, elites and corporations.
So how do we solve it? The first solve is to increase your income. Obvious; simple; but oddly not pursued nearly
enough. Gain more skills, become more valuable to society. But learn to value your time more than your bank
account. The more time you have or the more efficient you are with your time, the more the income will flow.
The online community offers an audience, a customer, a listener at a scale we simply cannot comprehend.
There is a niche for what you have to offer. Even if you’re highly successful in the private sector of Corporate
America (which I have been for years), it is beyond wise to find another tributary of income that you can
generate.
Ok, but that solution involves operating within the broken system. This article is about competing with systems.
So… how? The B-word. Bitcoin. It’s fitting we just had on Men of Order our first published article on crypto. It’s
the only way to compete at the present moment. It’s the ultimate hedge. It wasn’t built or invented for the
purposes of being a store of value. But it was certainly meant to compete with the dollar, Euro, pound, yen and
so on. I’ve been slowly wading into the crypto waters. And if you have a beef with bitcoin, then I’m not trying to
change your mind. There ARE sound arguments against it; other competing cryptocurrencies; and a lack of
insurance/safety measures should you “misplace” your coins. I completely get it (while also disagreeing).
But flip the argument on its head and someone please make the case for fiat right now? The money supply is,
for all intents and purposes, arbitrarily managed. The distribution of where this new money is injected? Not so
arbitrarily decided. See above reference to wealth gap. But do not blame millionaires and billionaires. They
have that money because they created an idea, brought it to market, found willing participants to aid in their
vision and monetized it. It’s not their job to save us. Don’t let the government officials tell you how much they
could get accomplished if Bezos and Musk just paid a fair share. Those are unenlightened talking points to give
you a scape goat. To make you lazy; to entice you sit around while Congress figures out how to get someone
else’s dollar in your hands. Literally one of the oldest cons in the game going today.
There is are a few, small circles of decision makers that get to choose exactly how valuable the dollars that
these wealthy business folk pay us, their employees. If an entrepreneur cuts me a check for $1,000 but then
Uncle Sam calls his cronies over at the Fed to get them to print another trillion dollars (or 2, or 3), my boss
didn’t devalue my check, the system did.
Sell me on that? Sell me why I’d keep signing up for this plan?
Forget for the moment that with Bitcoin – Kevin O’Leary, Mark Cuban, Ray Dalio, Peter Thiel, Bank of America,
Paul Tudor Jones – all have at some point completely 180’d after ripping it, shredding it, mocking it. Put aside
the fact this asset sat at $3,000 not even 2 years ago and now sits at $60,000. Toss it to the side. Pretend it
doesn’t exist. And now sell me on how fiat will solve anything with the system as it stands today. I don’t know
about you – and this isn’t financial advice – but I feel I should probably participate in a competing system just in
case. I’m dollar cost averaging. I’m HODL’ing. I’m even using it in a few transactions. All while working in the
corporate matrix, working on my writing and developing a podcast. Compete with the system.
There is no other alternative right now. Yes: real estate; yes, gold/commodities; even yes to art and collectibles.
But these are mature markets; most do not offer fractionalization for buying. And many are luxury markets
already cornered by the elites. The big players are starting to go in hard on BTC. But we, the people, still have
access and a chance to be part of that community. Compete.
Politics
Good god, where the fuck to even begin? First off, let’s get this straight. If you pick a side and cheerlead for a
politician over your friends, family or community members, I feel sorry for. You’re a victim.
It’s not Citizen A vs Citizen B. It’s the State vs the People. Losing friends over politics is a sucker’s game. You lose a friend or family member and what do you gain? I’ll tell you. You gain the forced worship for a policy maker who now has more clout in your mind than yesterday. You now look up to them for help; you look to them to make you feel good.
And they don’t even know you exist. But your friend? The one who would be there for you no matter what?
He/she is gone because they wore a MAGA hat? Or Build Back Better t-shirt? Ok dude.
Do you even notice how the language has subtly gone from “elected representatives” to “elected officials”?
This system… oy vey. Taxes the citizenry. Creates social programs that puts “friends” in the high paying jobs to
run said programs. And then who cares if it works? Now they can say, “we’ve implemented a great program”
and now need even MORE investment than ever (via your tax dollars) to keep it going… even though conditions
in run down cities or suburban trailer parks remain the same.
We’ve outsourced and trusted our goodwill to the state. Big, BIG mistake. Because now? We have given them an unspoken authority for them to tell me and you what is best for us. And we fall for it. Again, and again.
For instance: welfare. Do I think we should have a societal safety net? Yep. Does it make theoretical sense that
we all contribute to a pool of money to be used to help our fellow citizens? Yep. Is that how it actually works?
Nope.
Why? Because the government puts in ridiculous thresholds on who qualifies for the safety net and then has
equally ridiculous taxes to impose on us once you make it one inch out of the qualifying range for state
benefits.
I’m going to make up an example. Save the critique; this is a mechanical exercise. The numbers aren’t “what’s
in the policy”.
Say you’re a single mother of three children making $40,000/year and receiving some sort of government
assistance. The system is in full swing and working for you. You get a little bit of aid to keep you afloat. You
have income and are learning to budget, save, invest.
After 1-2 years of success and a promotion, you increase your income to $50,000. Uh-oh. The cut off point for
aid is $45,000. No more aid. You must now pay taxes and pay for childcare. All of sudden you’re netting
$30,000-35,000. You were better off at $40,000. And guess what? People have figured that out. And they
choose to stay at $40,000. To rely on the government aid. What’s the point in striving? Unless you triple your
income overnight, why go backwards AT ALL when you have mouths to feed?
The byproduct of this is that the lower-middle class becomes resentful of “lazy”, lower class people. And
division occurs between people who should most likely be allies. This is how the wealthy and policy makers
reap benefits. The lower income bracket of citizens argue with each other, and the elite carry on without a
worry.
The solve? Find leaders in your communities doing it better than the government. This is what led me to my
podcast with Felecia Killings:
She’s competing with government programs. She builds a communal living environment for single mothers so
they can pool their money for rent and also be there for each other to help with raising the kids. Then she
fundraises for donations. That money goes where? Directly to the mothers for… groceries and food. And when the mothers begin to increase their income? They are not just cut off stone cold and sent back into the world.
They are allowed to transition back into society with established habits (budgeting, saving) and now have a
community of friends to rely on. Not some clerk at the welfare office who barely knows you and your
story/background.
People like Felecia exist. Become a Felecia or go find one in your own community. But do not waste your time
writing letters to politicians or, worse yet, just outsourcing the solution with your “vote”. It’s not the long-term
play. You can NOT feel warm and fuzzy or virtuous about yourself because you work hard and pay your taxes…
especially when it comes to issues you feel are important or are highly opinionated about.
This is the future to me. The destruction of government programs replaced by the private sector. We’ll
probably never see it in our lifetime. But we can make the push to compete with our donations and the success
of these programs. If fewer citizens enroll for government assistance because they receive better care
elsewhere? Programs and the size of government become leaner. And they are forced to change for the actual
benefit of citizens as a whole.
Media
Do you still watch cable news to get your information? I admit, I watch it occasionally. But, for me it’s to watch
the shit show crumbling before our eyes; and to see what narrative they are trying to force down our throats
that get us to argue with one another. Once you view it from this lens, you can never view it another way.
Are you blaming “fear mongering Fox News”? But then give CNN/MSNBC a pass? Cool bro, you and I are not
built the same… not one bit. All you’re doing is feeding the mechanism. What I learned around 2017, is that all
my “best-informed” friends/family members repeat and rephrase the bullet points from their favorite news
anchors to sound smart. It’s a test in rote memory. We’re presented a slanted bias under the guise of “just
giving the facts first” and then let a pundit’s framing inform the way we think about an issue.
As former heavyweight boxer, Ed Latimore, once notably tweeted: “Watching the news is the mental
equivalent of smoking cigarettes”.
Check our podcast with him as well:
If you can separate yourself from the madness and watch for entertainment, then you are in a good spot. But
how do we stay informed? You need to be aware of your surroundings, your environment and how the masses
are feeling. You DO need a temperature check and a pulse check; you want to be able to see protests, unrest,
financial crises coming before they even happen. You cannot just stick your head in the sand.
So? The solve? It is already happening, but follow people… individuals. Podcasters, independent journalists and
writers. Follow Twitter feeds and YouTube shows dedicated to breaking down events and just presenting the
story. Or better yet, having inquisitive discussions about the topics.
Follow/listen to Joe Rogan, Tim Pool, Scott Adams, Tulsi Gabbard, Bari Weiss, Glen Greenwald, Michael Malice, Comedian Dave Smith, Lex Fridman, Russell Brand, Saagar Enjeti and Krystal Ball.
And, of course, Hotep Nation.
And side bar… how sad is it that I have three standup comedians in this list? And the list is FAR more expansive
than that. These are just a few of the prominent names who think for themselves, talk to other very informed
people who are experts in a variety of fields and do not put out narratives to defend an organization’s motives
or bottom line. They teach. They ask questions. They point out hypocrisy. They say the common-sense stuff we
are all thinking but often too afraid to say ourselves. This is the future. Individuals writing on Substack and blog
sites (like Men of Order!); experts going direct-to-consumer (DTC) instead of through producers, publishers and
corporate legal teams.
It’s how we get comfortable seeing the debauchery of our institutional/legacy media, viewing it for what it is
(entertainment and incentivized narration), and developing the ability to think for ourselves. By following these types of individuals, you are allowed to make a decision without being presented an agenda. And even if they
are presenting their own agenda… at least it’s THEIRS. And not that of a corporate institution.
The good news here is that this has been in the works for a decade. Cable ratings are down. Podcast listening,
decentralized news subscriptions are up; in fact, collectively, the podcast and DTC market is the mainstream.
It’s just disorganized and fractionalized because it is all individuals. No one person controls a narrative. The
“Mainstream” media in not mainstream. It is legacy. It is corporate. We need to let these independent outlets
drive the narrative and not respond to it. We do this by giving the legacy brands less attention, less
engagement, less opportunity to monetize our fear.
We’re on the right path. It is why my podcast is called The B.O.D.Y. Movement. With BODY = Built on
Developing Yourself. And in part 2 we’ll tackle more decentralized solutions to overcoming our broken
institutions of Healthcare, Education, and Men.
