Obstacle I
Obstacle. Barrier of the mind. Walled in like a prisoner. Imposed dependency upon a system that doesn’t want what is best for you. A system that wants complete control through the abandonment of civil rights.
The first book I learned to read was the Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. It’s now outlawed in all 72 states and on restriction world-wide by an entry on the questionable content list. The Vatican called to decommission all children’s reading material nearly a decade ago. There are no more books about happy puppies that chase their tails or Jack helping Jill climb up a hill, or littlest engines that could.
Mass brainwashing. It is illegal to own a book. Furthermore knowing what a book is a criminal violation. If you are found with a book and the intent to share its contents by way of instruction is an executable offense. Five men were executed before a courtyard of peers for the spread of knowledge. These men, once all fine educators, were teaching the writings of Socrates to a small group of dissidents.
The day you step foot into a classroom the process begins. A form of deprogramming. You are slowly forced to forget everything you know. A mass directed propaganda centered on anti-literacy. Words are now your enemy. You will only remember selected information in the terms of words. Images are safe, comfortable in the way that a blanket provides warmth.
To call the human race illiterate would not be entirely wrong. It isn’t as though they’ve had a complete choice in the matter either.
Uninformed.
To describe the undoing briefly without emphasizing the negative aspects is to throw a rug over a stain. The problem is still there. Lying beneath the cover. They aren’t educated on their rights. You should always know your rights.
A three year old knows more words than a thirty-three year old man. These are words like military occupation and governmental jurisdiction. There were once studies that reported children under the age of five to have the ability to learn at an accelerated rate and retain considerable knowledge. These studies were manipulated to impose a form of slavery upon the majority of humanity.
Imposed Illiteracy.
Without cognition of words and a limited knowledge, 75% of the population could only hope to serve in a lesser capacity. Remove the choice of lifestyle from the masses and they will not strive for more. The simple mind can be happy in a way that is moldable. TV. Picture emphasized books and magazines. No need for information about the world. Radio. Information guised in the form of music. Advertisements pressing for consumers to buy based on their choices. They have no choice.
AWAKE!
I wasn’t a child when the deprogramming happened. Like most students, I was immunized on campus and my books and classes decommissioned for several months. Returning back to studies was an adjustment. Fewer students populated the campus and the classrooms now emphasized the need for selected information. Flashcards and films became a constant medium for the spread of information.
I could remember the words and what they meant. Someone told me that I would forget. Like a bad dream. I don’t recall how they tried to take them from me. Only that they did not succeed. My classification isn’t like the others. I am an educator. Less than 5% of the literate population are educators. This is because my mind is different.
Today I remain seated before a classroom of fifty-two kindergarteners and we are quickly skimming through the finer points of Da Vinci’s masterworks via slideshow. These students are not like the others. I’ve been asked to strip away the words by emphasizing the importance of imagery. This class is different. There aren’t simply learning about Da Vinci. Using the same principles that were used to deprogram, I’ve begun reintegrating values of culture and humanity back into the minds of the future. Flash cards and integrated text. Between slides I’ve introduced the great classic lines of the U.S. Constitution. Words that once stood for something.
Unlike the majority of adults, not all children are deprogrammed. There are different classifications. The world is run by the informed. A separation of classes. Those who are allowed to read and those who are not. While there are a majority that will never know what a book is, there is another group who has the information and power to know the difference.
Most of the adult populations were deprogrammed by way of flu vaccination. It started somewhere in the southern region. There were several outbreaks of a flu-like virus. A flu that spread like wildfire. Immunization became mandatory. If you were not vaccinated you would die. Vaccinations were merely a cover for the truth. Deprogramming. The greater part of the population was temporarily hospitalized for treatment of an imaginary flu in order to be deprogrammed. That was only the beginning. Libraries became government sanctioned facilities. Only high-ranking classifications could enter and nothing could be removed.
There aren’t enough children living outside of the programming. Although these fifty-two can read, they will never know the poetic words of e.e. cummings, or literary masterpieces of Shakespeare. There isn’t much time and I can only push for a comprehension of basic rights. They need a basis for understanding why they aren’t allowed to know more. This is all I can do before they move on.
In a previous lecture the children were influenced by Degas and his fascination with dancers. One particular image reminded me of Emily Dickinson and I’d included some text between the presentations for discussion. Three of my students instantly became enraged by the implication that the words could be weapons and turned like knives with manipulation that intends to harm. The idea that Miss Dickinson should be executed for knowledge struck a nerve that they felt to be in opposition to the idea of beauty behind the words. This fortunately fell into the moral compass of questioning authority and the students were allowed to explore this theme thoroughly.
I recently acquired a copy of Green Eggs and Ham. I could face execution for the infraction against my code as an educator. Although there isn’t anything truly questionable about it. The book implies the need to step out of the familiar and try something new. I can think of no better way than to lose my life believing and teaching something that encourages growth through experience. Knowledge.
The spread of knowledge is like an infectious virus that is uncontainable; an evolving virus that teaches and gifts men with a desire to learn more. Gives them a reason to deny what they’re told and become aware of what is in front of them. There is always a choice to break through the barrier and escape the prison. Even the one in the mind that questions the safety in what you are told.
Something someone once told me was... you can't necessarily force things to happen or not to happen you have to let them. I think that was pretty wise. but that has nothing to do with this... or does it? **my favorite zen master says i can not quote her unless it is done right... and apparently I've missed part of the point or emphasized it inappropriately. I think the latter. perhaps she just changed her mind. hehe. anyhow to rephrase... you decide to make things happen the way you say it and then be open to let them keep happening. there is no concept of force. 'there are a million reasons to keep going' we shouldn't be so quick to shoot first and ask questions later.
Know your rights. Literacy is not an earned privilege it is a freedom. You should never let something you have the ability to do, you know the 'can do', ever go to waste. As you grow older you will realize that life feels like it makes you choose. And you know what, you never have to. Anyways, this is a part of AWAKE! Enjoy! M.
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