Ishmael Revisited.

I think few people realise the extent to which their approach to life is dictated to them by the powers that run the culture – the politicians, the corporations, the bankers, the educationalists, and maybe something else as well that pulls strings behind the scenes. They tell us what we want; they tell us what we need; they tell us what to value and what not to value; they tell us how to view the multitudinous elements which make up Life As We Know It. In short, they tell us what is normal, right and proper. And people go along with it.

So what happens to those who question the instructions, who think deeply about what they want, need and value? What happens when they start trying to circumvent the instructions, when they start dispensing with the trappings – the technology, the trinkets and the lifestyle accessories? Life becomes more difficult on a practical level because the system run by the powers-that-be make it so.

But that’s only the surface problem. The real, deeper problem is that such a person becomes out of tune with the culture, and then life becomes an increasingly persistent cacophony of discordant notes. And that’s when everything starts gradually to fall apart and the questioner gets driven closer and closer to the edge of reason. Or so it seems.

I’m being fanciful, aren’t I? I’m becoming paranoid. I am. Am I?