A soggy Good Evening from the GreyNorWet to all of the Brethren out there. The Reverend has just returned from a moto sojourn down to the equally soggy Northern coast of California. There was communing to be done, motos to be ridden and matters of import to discuss.
The esteemed Brothers and Sisters of the wheel had ridden many a mile, and from points far flung, to be at the annual gathering. Amongst the laughter and jests there were serious discussions, compeers comparing ideas on all the things that oppress and poison our people.
Whilst discussing the insidious tentacles of the Down-Pressor corporations, and the many ploys and tricks that the demons use to ensnare our Brethren, one of our most thoughtful members commented that "We are all working for the company store." I am here to tell you Sisters and Brothers, those words resonated with me, yes they did.
It is my belief, good Brethren, that we live in a society that is largely formed by the input, machinations, and connivances of the modern corporation. We are not always aware of the many layers, veils, and stratagems of the Down-Pressor and the corporate minions, but they are always there, sometimes operating in the open, sometimes in the shadow. When single, huge companies control manufacturing, transportation, marketing and retailing, there is, indeed, the spectre of the company store, a spectre which then controls our lives.
One arm of the Down-Pressor controls the mass media of this contrived world, spewing their messages over the TV and radio, trying to convince our people they must have this thing or that thing for their lives to be complete. Another arm of the Down-Pressor goes to developing nations to harvest the raw materials for cheap crap products. Yet another tentacle produces and markets the useless garbage that we are lured to buy, which then quickly becomes actual garbage when it is discarded to make way for the next must-have, yet useless, piece of consumer junk.
Back in the day, my Brethren, the Company Store in a mill town or mining town called all the shots. There was no pretense of freedom, no subtlety. The Company paid the workers in script and the script was only good at the Company Store where goods could be had at inflated prices or not at all. There were no other options.
Today, a shining example of freedom is held up to us in the form of Free-Market Capitalism. If we would simply allow this wonder of the world, and its keepers, free rein, all of the Brethren would be led to a land of prosperity and ample cargo, enough to satisfy our every need. There is no Company Store, there is only free choice as far as the eye can see, aisle after of aisle of gleaming consumer goods at low, low prices.
Lies, Sisters! Snake-Oil, Brothers!
Young people, if they have an opportunity for college education, are coming out of the system in hock up to their eyeballs before they even start a career. The Down-Pressor absolutely loves the Government backed, and bankruptcy immune, system of student loans. From that point on, the Corporations have their hooks into us, trying with every device at their disposal to bind us more and more tightly into the cycle of live, buy, consume and die.
Without awareness, Sisters and Brothers, we are all just shopping at the company store. It is better hidden than it was in the past, but it is larger, more organized, and more insidious than anything the coal company or linen mill owners ever imagined.
Keep the faith, keep your eyes open, and strike a blow!
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