Plato’s Allegory of the American Dream

In Plato’s allegory of the cave, the captives believe only in the shadow figures projected against the wall, oblivious to the vast world beyond their sight. How are we, today, any different than those captives? For most of us, the collective illusions impressed upon our consciousness is all we know and all we care to know. But since 2020 the veil of illusion has started to lift and, for many, this has allowed us to climb out of Plato’s cave and see reality for the first time.

As I type away these radical anti-social ramblings in the seating area of a small town Safeway grocery store, the irony is not lost on me that I am a part of this inhumane society whether I like it or not. But what is so bad about being a part of society, you may ask? I wonder the same thing as I greet the young European beauty at the register, spending the best days of her youth chasing the American dream of being able to afford a bed and three meals every day, then gaining the right accreditations and debts required to be a professional in a field where her entire purpose will be to maintain the status quo… and, on her nights and weekends, maybe she can get married and, if money allows, have a child. Boomers will not understand this struggle.

So what is so bad about chasing the American dream? Given the alternatives of incarceration or death by starvation, it’s really not so bad. People seem relatively happy working their 8-hour daily shifts and hoping for that overtime bonus, oblivious to the impending financial collapse and an array of other destructive forces currently being unleashed upon our nation. In our American version of Plato’s cave, we have grit and believe we can get anywhere with enough hard work. And the government is here to help us. Everything will be alright.

My problem is that I am a hopeless idealist who has escaped the cave of illusions, at least in my mind. Doctors would probably define this state of being as “psychotic” but I prefer the term “enlightened.” Once you escape the cave, you will not immediately see the full scope of lies you have been fed since birth but you will become less attached to the illusions that used to define your personality, your fears and your passions. You may not immediately notice the color changes but you will astutely observe, “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.” And that’s just the beginning of your journey down the symbolic yellow brick road.

There is nothing wrong with staying in Kansas or in Plato’s cave or in the illusion of the American dream. Many people enjoy it and it is certainly less painful than being cynical about absolutely everything. But it takes a particular delusion to believe in a society where we pay taxes thrice on every dollar we earn or spend; where millions of people who couldn’t cut it are discarded in the streets; where the food we eat slowly kills us and so do the professionals who are paid handsomely to save you; where spending the majority of your waking hours with the people you love is an impossibility. How demoralized must one be to believe in and defend those who have orchestrated such a society for our entire lives?

As the AI-powered death drones begin to pinpoint my location and target me for immediate termination due to wrongthink, I realize I don’t have very long to get my point across. So I will have to limit my metaphors and cut to the chase. You don’t really need a metaphor to observe the outrageousness of what we have come to consider normal. In the name of safety, we have given up our inalienable rights. In the name of convenience, we have given up our privacy. In the name of tolerance, we tolerate the obliteration of our family unit and, for no good reason at all, we already gave up our stewardship over the earth.

It should never have been this way. And, were it not for a well-organized infiltration of vipers, it never would have been. What we need right now, against all odds, is for men to claim their birthright and women to conspire with them to remember our destiny as God’s creatures. We are meant to build, create, love, learn, grow, invent, claim, conquer and own what is ours. To do so, there is much we need to unlearn and destroy in our minds. What we believe influences what we do and when we believe in lies we do stupid things. So, before the drones get me, I must ask: what will you believe in?… the rules of society? or the eternal flame of creation which burns in the heart of man?

In an ideal world, a world in which I am considered healthy instead of crazy, I envision families with children by the dozen who eat fresh food off the land and each build their own little kingdom without the money man to interfere with their affairs. This would be a world in which you reap the rewards of your own labor—with every room you build, every seed you plant and every child you raise. Your time would be your own, not that of some international corporation that treats you like cattle. Your choices would be your own, not dependent on some bureaucrat you have never met. While still interconnected with the lives of your neighbors, your land and your life would be sovereign. You would leave a legacy and strengthen your bloodline with each generation. I consider this a beautiful vision. The government, however, considers it lawless.

I can hear the buzzing of the drones. They are triangulating my coordinates and activating their extermination lazers. I don’t have much time to get my message across. Please, if you read this, take heed but remember this calling: you are not a victim inside a cave. You are one of God’s victorious children, here to obliterate lies and claim a life of truth. Go forth and multiply and create your own little heavenly kingdom here without asking for permission. Build your own castle upon a firm foundation and live righteously even if society falls into a hellish abyss. That is your calling, if you can read this message before Skynet consumes it forever.

The drones are closing in. It has been an honor to serve in these final moments of man’s fight for freedom.

Just remember, there’s no fate but what we make for ourselves.