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Suite No. 7

1sum

00:00 / 06:29

Meeting the Moon Goddess

Suite No. 7, First Movement:

HOW I'VE SURVIVED FASCISM SO FAR

In the Moonlight

As I walked under the full moon, I experienced the deep mysteries of the subtle realms, and I suddenly felt profound joy, which made me dance a jig. I looked down to see my moon-shadow on the ground and realized that the colors of my outfit had changed, possibly due to my intense emotions. "Wait," I wondered out loud, "what if my clothes are somehow revealing my emotions? Is that really a good thing? Isn't it usually safer to hide emotions and thoughts in a fascist society?"

Venus: Goddess of Love, Beauty, Nature, and the Arts

The next day, I strolled through a field blanketed by flowers. I felt ravished by their beauty and also sensed a sweet energy--almost like love--emanating from the flowers. I felt like singing and dancing and playing my guitar.

Jamming with the Band

I suddenly felt magnificent and spontaneously danced another jig. When I looked down at my feet, I realized that the colors of my clothes had changed again--more greens and yellows this time. I headed back to town to jam with my band.

Hell's Angel

As I was skipping down the street on my way home, I encountered a Hell's Angel on his motorcycle. "Wow, that guy emanates some kind of scary wickedness, but riding that bike looks like fun," I thought to myself.

Hell's Angel Fool

When I got home, I got on my bike and rode around the neighborhood. I pretended to be a Hell's Angel and felt a little bit wicked but more than a little happy. As I was pedaling, I looked down at my feet and realized that the color of my clothes had changed again. "Does this happen to everybody?" I wondered.

Greenish Ogre

The next day, I took a hike through the woods. Suddenly a greenish ogre blocked my way. "If you want to pass through here, you have to do everything I say, exactly as I say it!" the ogre exclaimed. Since ogres are fascists, I backed away, wondering if his skin had turned green because of his emotions. I didn't want to be anybody's slave, so I found another path through the forest. "No thanks!" I exclaimed as I wandered away.

Well-Dressed Wage Slaves

Eventually I encountered several well-dressed workers who were each sitting behind a desk. "Why are you working out here in the forest?" I asked them.
"We are the ogre's slaves. We have to do exactly what the ogre says or he'll fire us and force us to starve in the forest. We have to slave away without sick pay or vacation pay or access to health care or a pension," one of them responded mournfully. I became angry and noticed that my hat and clothes had turned red.

Slaves in Rags

As I continued hiking on the path, I came upon slaves dressed in rags tied to trees. "Let me guess," I muttered. "The ogre tied you to these trees." They all groaned.
One of them replied, "The white supremacist fascist capitalists are trying to reinstate the institution of slavery so that they have a slave force to exploit and abuse again."
I noticed that the color of my clothes had turned a dull brown as if I were feeling sad and miserable. After I untied them all, they dashed off into the forest.

Greenish Oligarch

Depressed by the different types of slavery in the world, I eventually found my way back to the city. At one point, I tiptoed by a greenish oligarch who was getting out of a limousine. He looked up at me and grinned as though amused by my troubles.

Burdened Fool

In the city, I always felt burdened by society's problems, which weighed heavily on my shoulders--as much, if not more, than my own problems. Slightly ashamed as the oligarch laughed at me with his eyes, I gazed down at my feet and noticed that my clothes had turned a dark, mucky brown. I got the feeling that the color of my clothes made the oligarch happy because he wanted everyone to feel miserable and alone and powerless--because if the masses didn't join together and protest against the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few people, he could continue making mountains of money without worrying about any threats of mass protest or any other kind of political interference.

Skeleton Soliloquy

I felt like escaping from society, so I searched for a cave. Eventually, I found one not far from the city. Inside the cave, I discovered a skeleton who was trying to perform some kind of soliloquy. At first, I could only hear the clacking of his teeth, but then I began to understand that he was explaining how he had been eaten by the rich. "I guess this poor guy has recognized too late that the rich have killed and eaten him and that they continue to eat people simply for their own enjoyment," I concluded.

Flowery Fool

Obviously I couldn't live in a cave with a skeleton, so I returned to my apartment, but when I got home, I realized that I somehow needed to accept my own mortality--if I could. I knew that someday I too would become nothing but a skeleton, but before then I could do my best to enjoy all the flowers I find and also find love and beauty and experience the arts and the profound mysteries of the subtle realms. When I looked down, I noticed that my clothes were covered by flowers.

Firing on Protesters

I'm glad I found peace because the next day I joined a huge protest against the fascists, and the military fired on the crowd. Many people were shot. A couple of them died. If the military kept massacring citizens that they were tasked with protecting, I knew that I would have to remain fearless in the face of such tyranny. My clothes suddenly turned golden.

Demon Gauntlet

That night I dreamed that I faced a demon gauntlet. I felt that I had to make a terrible choice: remain cowering before the demons and fascists or risk dashing through the gauntlet to get to the other side--knowing that the demons and fascists could kill me. I woke up before I could make the choice.

The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters

That morning I remembered the old saying, "One lie can make us die." I thought of the countless lies that fascists had spewed out over the past several decades and wondered how any of us had managed to survive. All of the lies had certainly caused a nightmare--a kind of mass psychosis that could soon result in political and economic disaster.

Happy Fool in Flowers

I traveled to the hills again, and I decided as I walked through the flowers that I didn't care if people could see my emotions and thoughts in the colors of my clothes, especially when the colors reflected the beauty of the earth and revealed my feelings of love and joy.

Black Clouds in the Office

findin

00:00 / 04:01

Suite No. 7, Second Movement:

HOW I'VE SURVIVED FASCISM SO FAR

Rhinestone Boss

I needed to find another job. I applied at a corporation, and a few days later a secretary invited me to a job interview. When I stepped into the office, I noticed black clouds hanging above the large table in the middle of the room. Already a bit nervous, I tried my best to avoid looking at the strange clouds as the interviewers asked me questions. I said whatever they wanted to hear and smiled a lot and tried to appear friendly to everyone in the room. After the interview, a secretary called me and asked me to come in to meet my new boss, who wanted to give me a tour of the office. After I arrived, my new boss, dressed in a rhinestone suit, shook my hand and guided me through the office to meet some of my coworkers.
"I should probably warn you," my new boss stated. "We like to think of 'McPrison Inc' as a progressive, trend-setting corporation. You're going to see a few things that you might consider unusual or even a little amazing. Besides having provided necessary resources to the private prison industry over the years, we now also provide special assistance to the government--which has recently passed legislation that enables corporations to build and maintain 'criticism cells' within their office buildings. In other words, the government provides us with funding for imprisoning anyone who criticizes the king or capitalism or any aspect of our glorious traditional way of life. We have provided a prototype for other corporations to experience. Please, follow me. Let me introduce you to Ms. Jones, my former secretary."

Criticism Cell #1

We strolled past several offices and came upon a cell that contained an elderly woman. My new boss continued, "Ms. Jones criticized the king for passing a big, beautiful bill that gutted the social safety net--her main complaint being about how the huge cuts to health care programs are going to hurt children and the elderly and people with disabilities. Even though Ms. Jones has provided decades of service to this corporation, we were forced to imprison her in this 'criticism cell' because she had committed a serious crime, which is now tantamount to a potential act of terrorism."

Criticism Cell #2

We strolled past several more offices and came upon another cell. The boss continued, "This guy, whose name escapes me at the moment, Mr. Gomez, I think it is, or something like that, criticized the king for ordering masked thugs without any identification to kidnap people off the street and send them without due process to concentration camps. Sorry, Jesus, or whatever your name is. Even though you might have done great work for the corporation, you committed a serious crime, a potential act of terrorism, and now you have to do the time."

Criticism Cell #3

"How do you like the tour so far?" My new boss asked me.
"Just wonderful, sir," I replied enthusiastically.
Soon we came upon another criticism cell. "This guy is just a damn rabble rouser," My new boss claimed. "He's a radical left-wing lunatic who tried to convince hard-working people who serve this corporation to start a labor union--which is an indicator of potential radical left-wing violence. We have witnesses who claim that he was also criticizing capitalism and our traditional way of life. By doing so, according to Directive Number Seven signed by our great King, he might remain locked up as a potential terrorist for the rest of his life."

Criticism Cell #4

We continued our leisurely tour and soon found another criticism cell. "This guy criticized our beloved Christianity, which, my friend, is Blasphemy with a capital B! He had the gall to claim that Christianity nowadays is the exact opposite of what Jesus teaches in the bible. He insists that Jesus commands us to love one another and to treat others the way we want to be treated. This radical nutjob claims that Jesus commends those who give food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty and those who clothe the naked and lift up the poor--and that individuals and nations shall be judged by how we treat the stranger, you know immigrants and refugees. This anti-Christian vermin claims Jesus taught that 'what you do for the least of these, you do for me,' or something like that. Ridiculous! We know that Jesus was definitely not a radical left-wing lunatic like this weirdo. We all know that what you do for the most powerful within a corporation profits everyone within the corporation. It all trickles down, right?"
"Yes, sir," I responded.

Criticism Cell #5

At the next criticism cell, the boss pointed out, "This young lady claimed that she almost died because it's now against the law for doctors to perform necessary reproductive health care procedures. She shouted that in this realm we only care about the fetus, not the mother--and not the baby after it's born. She was so shrill that she sounded like a terrorist. She went way too far in her criticism of our always admirable way of life. We're still determining whether or not we should consider her criticism as a potential act of terrorism."

Criticism Cell #6

"I would like to show you one more criticism cell before we finish our tour," my new boss said. "This young lady complained about being an independent contractor who doesn't receive a living wage and doesn't receive benefits like health insurance or a pension. She complained that she will probably never be hired as a full-time employee. That's true for the vast majority of our workers here. Why does she think that she's so special? On top of that, a witness claimed that she complained about how the king had commanded his paramilitary forces to kidnap people and murder them without any due process. She needs to get real and stop being so hostile to our social and corporate values. We like her. We really don't want to consider her 'the enemy within.'"

Journey to the Tarot Realm

At the end of the tour, I thanked my new boss. He smiled and shook my hand. When I got home from work, I put on my armor and headed through the enchanted forest back to the Tarot Realm.

Mr. Mellifluous in the Enchanted Forest

As I hiked through the forest, I unexpectedly met Mr. Mellifluous. "I've heard that people in your realm are suffering terribly from fear and hatered, mainly because of your new king's maniacal need for total domination, and I see that you are heading back to the Tarot Realm."
"Yeah," I replied. "I need to return to a place where some sanity prevails."
"Here in the enchanted forest," Mr. Mellifluous replied, "you will meet warring and ministering angels who will support you. They will follow you if you decide to head back to your realm. They will not show themselves in your realm, but you will often feel their presence."

Surrounded by Wild Beasts

Mr. Mellifluous vanished. Suddenly I could sense that wild beasts were surrounding me. I drew my sword just as I realized that I was outnumbered. I wondered for a second if I should at least try to run away from them.

Warring Angel

A warring angel, who looked like a mountain lion dressed in armor, suddenly appeared near me. He screeched and growled and screeched again and the beasts turned and dashed away. "I wish I could do that!" I exclaimed.
"You have your own talents, my friend," he replied. "But I will support you in your battles on a spiritual level if you return to your own realm--I will be there for you even though you won't be able to see me."

Ministering Angel

Soon I encountered a ministering angel. "You have to decide if you are going to return to your realm," she stated. "Because you are a knight, you are needed there. I will be there for you. Sometimes you will hear my voice or feel an intuition."

King of Pentacles

y

I continued hiking through the forest and eventually came to a castle where I encountered the King of Pentacles sitting on his throne. "Have faith, my friend!" the King proclaimed. "You are a knight who knows the dimensions of Universal Consciousness. You learned how to be a knight here in the Tarot Realm, and you have shown that you have great courage and discipline. You have lived a life of quiet heroism in this realm, and you can do the same in other realms that need you. You can help others in your realm move beyond panic and fear to quiet heroism in the face of what appears to be insurmountable odds. I would like you to stay here with us, of course, but you are needed in the realm from which you came--far more than you are needed here. As you return to your realm, you will meet other warring and ministering angels in the enchanted forest who will support you, my friend."
I bowed before the King and stated, "I will return to my realm, great King, at your bidding," I replied. The King smiled and nodded.

Another Warring Angel

As I hiked back through the enchanted forest, I encountered an eagle dressed in armor--another warring angel. "I see from the perspective of eternity, and I will help you in your battles against lawlessness and injustice and corruption. You might sometimes feel hopeless, but remember that I am with you."

Another Ministering Angel

Soon I encountered another ministering angel, who stated, "When you return to your realm, you will find that another terrible crisis is occurring. I will support you through the darkest of times," she assured me.

Another Plague

As soon as I got back to my realm, I could see that another pandemic had started raging. "I am going to call on you, my warring and ministering angels, soon and often. I will need your help often and soon," I muttered.

Nine of Swords: Mars in Gemini

3star

00:00 / 04:59

Suite No. 7, Third Movement:

HOW I'VE SURVIVED FASCISM SO FAR

Fascist Troll

I woke up filled with despair and anger due to the fascist takeover of the realm. I suddenly felt like directing my anger and cruelty at those who were responsible for the oppression, but suddenly it occurred to me that I wasn't normally an angry or cruel or despairing person. I released all of my negativity and got ready for my day.
As I was walking to work, I encountered a troll on the sidewalk. The troll shouted, "You're obviously vermin who is poisoning the blood of good citizens in the realm. You'll see--we are going to exterminate all insects like you!"
Suddenly I wondered if I had unintentionally projected my anger out to other people in the neighborhood, turning some into trolls.

Fascist Salute

During my break, I hung out in the lunchroom and ate a snack. I noticed the king giving a fascist salute, then presenting a speech, "I hate my enemies! I hate the horrible left-wing lunatics who are responsible for all the terrible violence in this realm. We need to send them all to concentration camps and exterminate them! That must be our final solution!"

Fascist Pundit

I quickly changed the channel. A pundit sneered, "The left-wing is a domestic terrorist organization! They are attempting to destroy everything that is noble and great in this realm! We've got dangerous homeless people and illegal immigrant criminals and left-wing terrorists everywhere. We need to give them all an involuntary lethal injection! Just kill them!"

Fascist Storm

I turned off the TV. Then I a noticed a storm brewing in one of my coworkers. He looked like he wanted to kill me. I thought once that he was a cool guy, but I realized that he wasn't really my friend. I dashed out of the lunchroom and decided to take a walk during the remainder of my break.

Upside Down

As soon as I stepped out of the office, the world turned upside down. Afraid that I was going to fall into the sky, I grabbed a tree-trunk and held on for dear life.

Threatening Rebellious Subordinates and Dissidents

After I had hung on to the tree for a couple of minutes, the world seemed to turn right-side up again. "Whew, I thought I was a goner!" I sighed. Then I quickly returned to my cubicle in the office.
Suddenly a coworker peaked his head into my cubicle and exclaimed, "Hey, you've just got to see this!" I followed him as he rushed toward the lunchroom.
On TV, the king was threatening to hang anyone disloyal to him. He held up a noose and shook it violently. The king sneered, "If you are a rebellious subordinate or a dissident who criticises me, you will one day soon find a noose around your neck!"

Fascist Demonic Project

"Seems like we are all suffering from feelings of despair and anger--some kind of mass psychosis, I guess," I mumbled. My friend turned to a different channel, and I could see a demon standing next to an open book. The caption at the bottom of the screen read, "Project 25."

Fascist Paramilitary

Afraid that the police were coming for us, my coworker friend and I burst out of the office and dashed down the street. Suddenly a man in a military uniform pointed a machine gun at us. "Stop!" he yelled. "If you are homeless or an illegal immigrant or a dissident, I will have to detain you!"
"No, no!" I gasped. "We are coworkers on a break. We're just racing back to the office before our break is over."
"I will have to detain you anyway. You look like dissidents," he sneered.
"Look!" I yelled. "A homeless man!" As the soldier turned away to look, my friend and I dashed away.

Finding a Job

The soldier fired his machine gun at us as we were diving behind a trash bin. Then we dashed around the corner and escaped down the street and found a homeless man meditating on the street. He seemed to have a terrible rash all over his body. "You need to get out of here, my friend!" I exclaimed. "Soldiers are rounding up homeless people!"
"I'm sure you've heard of the man named Job in the bible," he replied. "I became terribly ill, and I lost my home and family and all of my possessions, like Job. I'm sure the paramilitary force will find me soon. I'm without much hope for the future, my friend. You know, you two need to get out of here before they catch up to you."

Fascist Invasion

In the distance my friend and I could see fascist soldiers attacking the people of the realm. "The military is waging war against its own people!" My friend cried.
"The fascists are taking over," I replied.

Illegal and Unjustified War against a Sovereign Nation

My friend and I quietly tiptoed away from the soldiers. We eventually found a safer part of town. We stopped to rest in front of a store window. Through the window, we could see a TV. A bomb was exploding in some other realm. "The fascists must be invading a sovereign realm without congressional approval. The fascists are murdering people all over the world," I groaned.

Justice: Libra

On the store wall, I could see a painting of Justice holding up a sword. "Don't despair, my friend. We can still bring harmony and balance back into the world--even if only a little at a time. It's not over yet." My friend looked at me with tears in his eyes.

Mother Mary

Suddenly we entered a church and encountered a woman who looked like Mother Mary. She turned to us and stated, "The answer to all this hatred is forgiveness. We can release all of this negativity from our hearts. Only through love and forgiveness can we be free."

Fascist Swamp

My friend and I headed out of town. Soon we came upon a fascist sitting in a swamp surrounded by alligators. The fascist laughed at us, "You have found Alligator Auschwitz. I can tell that you are both dissidents. Guards! Arrest these fools and take them to the concentration camp!"

Alligator Auschwitz

My friend and I were separated and dragged to different parts of the camp. My guard sneered at me, "You think you deserve due process--but due process no longer exists in this realm. We're going to shave your head and starve you and work you to death. Good luck, sucker!"

Escaping Fascism

Whenever I could, I searched for my friend in the camp. I wasn't even sure that he was still alive. I was beginning to starve, so I decided that I had to escape Alligator Auschwitz without my friend. Tears streamed down my face, but I convinced myself that I could come back and find him and help him escape. I crawled under the fence at night under a full moon and ran as fast as I could past sleeping alligators and pythons. Finally I made it out the swamp.

Creating a World

bwarm2

00:00 / 05:38

Suite No. 7, Fourth Movement:

HOW I'VE SURVIVED FASCISM SO FAR

The Magician: Mercury

After I escaped from Alligator Auschwitz, I experienced the overwhelming feeling that the whole world was going insane--and that I was also losing my mind. I still had a little money in the bank--I checked my savings account and discovered that I had enough money for a session with a psychiatrist.
After I had waited for a few minutes, the psychiatrist invited me to sit on the floor. "You told me over the phone that you feel like your world has fallen apart. What I want you to do for me now is to rebuild your world. Create a building with these toys and tell me what kind of people you would want to include in your world."
That sounded kind of fun, so I grabbed some blocks and started building a castle. "I would like a magician to live with me in my castle--someone who remains in touch with the dimensions of Universal Consciousness, someone who is capable of manifesting a harmonious, beautiful, just world," I told him.

The High Priestess: The Moon

"Hmmm, very interesting. Please, build your castle," the psychiatrist urged.
"I would like a high priestess to live in my castle too," I replied. "Someone who can help me and others stay in touch with the Source of all creation. Someone connected to all dimensions of Universal Consciousness who can keep people in my community connected with each other and help individuals stay connected with the unity of all of creation."

Three of Pentacles

"Wonderful! Please continue," the psychiatrist encouraged me.
"Yeah, okay. I would like a monk and an architect and some masons to live in my castle too," I replied. "In other words, I would like someone who can see into the spiritual realms--someone who has visions of symbols that represent spiritual principle--to help the architect design a great cathedral. And, of course, I would need masons to build the physical structure of the church."
"I see! Someone with spiritual vision who can guide the architect to incorporate spiritual symbols into the building's structure. The monk has the spiritual skills, and the architect has the creative and intellectual skills, and the masons have the necessary physical skills. Together, they can complete the process of manifestation. Very nice," the psychiatrist replied.

Ten of Pentacles: Lord of Wealth

"Thank you," I replied. "I would also like the Lord of Wealth to join me in the castle. He knows the paths of the Tree of Life. He is someone who can manifest abundance for the families who live in the city and in the castle. When families live with abundance, it's easier for them to experience joy and happiness and love for each other."

Three of Cups

"Happiness and abundance and love is definitely better than fear and anger and cruelty," the psychiatrist replied.
"Yep. And I would like creative people to live with me in my castle--you know, writers and artists and composers and musicians and dancers who can bring us together through their wonderful insights and creativity and harmony and joyfulness."

r

The Devil: Capricorn

"A wonderful vision of a new world, my friend!" the psychiatrist smiled. "But what would you do if something or someone disrupted your ideal world? This world, after all, is not free of darkness. How would you deal with the cruelty and evil in your world?"
Suddenly I had a vision of the devil in my mind's eye. I replied, "I think we're seeing how powerful people use methods of domination to retain control of the world, but I'm not sure that I would want to use those methods."
The psychiatrist responded, "What do you mean by 'methods of domination'? And what do you think is wrong with those methods?"

Banana Republic

"Well, I don't think that I would create some kind of banana republic, where one leader is surrounded by plutocrats and kleptocrats who control a population through cruelty and fear. That would undermine my vision of sacredness and harmony and beauty and joy within my community. Rulers of one kind or another, call them kings or feudal lords or employers, throughout history have relied on some form of tyranny to control human society--the tyranny throughout history differs only in degree. Most of the people throughout the history of civilization have been treated either as chattel slaves or as serfs or as wage slaves. Maybe I'm searching for a different kind of social order, one that doesn't rely on tyranny."

Pincushion

I continued, "I want to build a society where everyone has dignity, where everyone experiences the harmony, abundance, and magnificence of the spirit. A society where we take care of the poor and each other, a society where no one is marginalized or cast aside. A society where we can all follow our own worldly path and our own spiritual path. Do you think that is asking too much?"
"No, not entirely," the psychiatrist responded. "But that kind of society would be quite a challenge to create and maintain in the world as it exists now. Realistically--how would you create it?"
"We could start with a living wage," I replied. "Wages have remained stagnant for decades but prices keep rising, which forces the vast majority of us to go deep into debt. Honestly, when you go shopping, you can feel like you're being jabbed with a pin every time you place something in your grocery cart."
"That's often true," the psychiatrist responded sympathetically. "But how would you increase wages and keep prices down when money is considered speech and corporations and the rich control politicians through campaign contributions? The elite make sure that they continue to make a profit. That amounts to more inflation but little or no substantial wage increases."
"Yeah, that is not democracy. That is tyranny," I replied. "A handful of people make the decisions within a corporation or a company, and the employees have little or no say in how the profits are spent even though they do most of the work. Only about three percent of the people in this society are members of the employer class, and they set the prices and they decide how much to contibute to politicians and how much to pay employees. The rich and the corporations strive to concentrate wealth--they don't want a free market. Corporations strive to create monopolies so that they can more easily control prices and wages, and they make sure through campaign contributions that politicians do little or nothing to break up their monopolistic control. We need to democratize the enterpise. You might call that socialism. I call it a true form of democracy."

Eight of Swords

"Do you really believe that socialism is possible in this country?" my psychiatrist politely inquired.
"What you are really asking is whether or not democracy is really possible in this country," I replied. "Is it really possible to maintain a democracy when a few people control most of the power and control most of the wealth? Is it really possible to maintain a democracy when women and minorities are exploited and subjugated and oppressed? Corporations and employers show no fealty to anything other than the bottom line, not to the people who work for them. Are the super-wealthy striving for more money for themselves or for more equality for the people of this country? Or do you believe that equality applies only to about thirty percent of the population, in other words, white men?"

Worker Bee

The psychiatrist remained silent. I continued, "Do you think worker bees can feel good about themselves when they are being exploited and don't make a living wage and remain deep in debt and have little or no political power? Is capitalism good for psychological health?"

Permanent Underclass

I continued, "The rich need a permanent underclass in order to make worker bees fear that they will lose their job and then end up impoverished and marginalized. Is that good for their psychological health? Part of the underclass ends up in a private prison system as slave laborers. Is that good for their psychological health? Is that equality or is that capitalism plus poverty plus slavery?"

Paramilitary and Military Forces

The psychiatrist remained silent. I continued, "People are getting desperate because of the great disparity of wealth and the social inequality and the debt that is overwhelming most of us. The super-wealthy are starting to worry as they squeeze more and more money out of the worker bees who are getting more and more desperate, so they send military and paramilitary forces into the cities to intimidate the masses. That is why my friend and I ended up in a concentration camp. I escaped, but I might never find out if my friend is still alive. Don't you get it? I am being driven insane by fascism, which is essentially 'capitalism plus enslavement in concentration camps plus murder.' We are experiencing a treasonous conspiracy to overthrow democracy--wherever it exists--in the workplace or in the schools or in the church or in the political and economic realms."

Homeless Veteran

The psychiatrist opened his mouth, but nothing came out. I continued, "The politicians, ruled by the super-rich, are commanding the military to conduct an illegal and unconstitutional war on the citizens of this country. The irony is that many of the members of the military will end up homeless on the streets--about five percent of the adult homeless population, in fact. Nobody is safe. Not even you, my friend. The fascists don't want people to be happy and healthy--they want people to be sick and full of hate and uneducated and terrified and psychotic. They've unleashed the military on us, you and me and everyone else. They might start rounding up psychiatrists and teachers and spiritual leaders and dissidents next."

Oligarch

The oligarchs and kleptocrats and plutocrats are becoming more and more afraid because they keep causing more and more misery and death throughout the world. Nine million men, women, and children die from starvation every year while a handful of people accumulate and horde more and more wealth every second. Numerous people die from gun violence and from smoking cigarettes and from drinking alcohol and from overdosing on drugs and from lack of access to health care and from global warming and from the poisoning of the planet. The obscenely rich are cracking down on us because they believe that fascism, not democracy, will keep the mobs from breaking down their doors."

Insurrectionists

I continued, "I'm not blaming you. I know you're trying to help people survive this collective nightmare. But I would like you to confront your own soul. What more can you do to stop this social disaster? We're all in this together. We don't have to resort to insurrection or violence, but we can each do a little every day to make some kind of change for the better."

Starting Over

The psychiatrist mused for a moment and then told me that my hour was up. I thanked the psychiatrist and drove to the foothills, where I lost myself in the grass. I released all of my negativity and realized that I could start over as I experienced the peace and tranquility of the trees and the grass and the flowers and the earth and the unity within all of creation.

Mad Scientist

2quiet

00:00 / 03:46

Suite No. 7, Fifth Movement:

HOW I'VE SURVIVED FASCISM SO FAR

Midas Touch

I recently discovered that a scientist was conducting an experiment on me. He had somehow hypnotized me so that whenever I saw an image of a king, I would also see golden coins falling all around me.
One day I saw an image of King Midas--the legendary king who could turn everything he touched into gold.

Raining Gold Coins

Suddenly I saw golden coins raining down all around me, but when I tried to pick one of them up, I discovered that the coin was as empty as air. The coins weren't real.

Bag Filled with Gold

Then I saw an image of a king holding up a bag filled with gold. Many people surrounded the king. They had all given the king gifts of gold.

Singing in the Rain

Suddenly I felt again like golden coins were raining down on me. I couldn't help but sing with joy, but I soon discovered again that the golden coins weren't real.

King Surrounded by Minions

Then I saw an image on TV of a king surrounded by jellyfish-like minions.

Path of Gold

Suddenly I saw a path of gold on the street. Nobody else seemed to see the golden coins. I bent down to pick up a coin but discovered that the coins weren't really there either.

Golden Path through the Forest

I followed the unreal gold into the forest, hoping that I would eventually find a pile of real gold at the end of the path.

Camp Guard

Eventually I came to some kind of camp. A guard welcomed me in.
I told him, "I have followed a path of gold to this camp, but the gold was not real." Then I asked, "Did the path lead me here because there is a pile of real gold here somewhere?
"Sure, I can show you a real pile of gold," the guard replied. "Follow me."

Golden Watches

"Here is your real pile of gold," the guard stated as he pulled out a pistol. "Please, my friend, place whatever gold you have on top of this pile."
"But I don't have any gold," I whined. "That is why I followed the unreal path of gold to this camp."

Room for Shoes

"Please follow me. I will show you a different room that you might like," the guard claimed.
When he opened the door, I saw only a pile of shoes. "I don't get it. Th--this is just a pile of shoes!" I exclaimed.
"Well, since you didn't have any gold, you can at least place your shoes at the top of this pile," the guard smiled.
"But I really need my shoes to get back home!" I complained.
The guard pointed his gun at me, so I quickly took off my shoes and threw them on top of the pile.

Portraits

Barefooted, I followed the guard to another room.
"Here, we keep portraits of children who have lived here," the guard claimed. "We are very proud of our children. We have experimented on them to understand as much as we can about vermin biology."
"Are they still alive?" I inquired weakly.
"Some of them, I think," the guard replied.

Gas Chamber

The guard guided me at gun-point to another room. "This is the gas chamber where we exterminate vermin," the guard revealed.
"Wha, why, why are you showing me this?" I stuttered.
"Don't worry. All will be revealed," the guard claimed.

Oven

The guard guided me to a another building and showed me some ovens. "This is where we burn the vermin bodies."

Charred Bones

Then the guard showed me a pile of charred bones. "Unfortunately, the ovens don't burn up all the bones completely," the guard sighed.

Vermin Inmates

Then the guard guided me outside. Some camp inmates were digging a hole. Some of the inmates had two shovels. "These vermin bury the charred bones of their own kind. The faster they work, the longer they live," the guard stated matter-of-factly.

King of Vermin Land

Then the guard showed me the picture of a king. "This is where you find out why you're here," the guard asserted. "If you pledge your loyalty by saluting your king, you will not end up like the other vermin here. If you want to be released, you must now show your undying loyalty to the king." The guard pointed his gun at me and shouted, "Salute your true king now and pledge your undying loyalty to him or die like the rest of the vermin!"
I saluted the king and pledged my undying loyalty to him. Then the guard released me, and I stumbled with bloody feet back home through the forest.

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