The year of 10 million Napoleons: a fantasy of the near future
In the not too distant future, just around the corner from today you might say. It all of course depends on how you perceive time. For some there is never enough time and they are always impatient. For them, don't fear this future, it is many moments away.
However for the thoughtful man, the quiet man for whom weeks seem like years and years pass like days, it happens very soon indeed. Not so soon we cannot prepare, but soon my friends, oh yes soon.
Time is a major character in this story, I warn you it may be the only real character of any force. Does the reader think that people happen to time, or that time happens to people?
I'd be interested to know, especially after I unwind my weary tale.
As I was saying in the first place, in the not too distant future. The world had finally begun to change under the force of the hands that had worked it for so long. Changed marched slowly, but with such determination that every year the sweeping changes moved faster and faster. It was as if the hands of the drummer had begun to rebel against the great conductor of the orchestra. Then the horns joined in. That however is getting ahead of the game.
The story of ten million napoleons started rather innocently. It was a Thursday, arguably the most hateful day of the week. The cogs in motion had been moving for some time, silently. The napoleons (as I will refer to them from now on, to not weary the reader overmuch), were all in different positions. Yet the voice heard round the world was not many, it was not like ten million, it was one voice. That one voice said the shortest and most powerful word in the English language. The voice said "No!"
Everybody stopped to listen, for the first time in years it seemed. It had not been years since they listened at all understand. The world of humans had listened as much as they could. However the noise of the machines of industry had made their ears insensitive to the quiet movement of the cogs of change.
These many voices who had joined together, many speaking up for the first time, were not all strong voices. Some were light and reedy, others were deep and rough. Some where timid and hardly used. The rough ones were over used.
The tone was why people listened, and the tone had in truth taken longest to set. It had started at the very start of organized thought and perhaps even before recorded history. The moment one had more than another, or one man tricked his brother, the die was cast. Falling through the ages of man, rattling on the way down. You and I know this rattle. We've heard history happen. Such is the rattle of the movement of change.
The tone was confident. The napoleons stood out not for wealth, strength or size, but for strength of character. These men, women, and people of many shapes stood out alone for knowing themselves, their worth, and their status. They stood out further because they desired better for themselves and their children.
That's the odd part of the early part of this story, because isn't it so human to love yourself and love your kids? In the era preceding this event that desire had been twisted.
If you love yourself, you must give of yourself the voices of society said. Such lovely carefully crafted almost facts. Working is of course a virtue, didn't you know?
Then they took those two beautiful life affirming facts and twisted them hard. To satisfy your desire to be productive and to give you must give more than you have they said. Minor alterations, you and I could probably agree. The voices spoke on how a large group is better than a small group, or an individual. This rang especially true for those with large hearts. Those with pride in their work were the most hurt.
The worst hurt, the hurt that festered and grew was this: if you love others, and you love work, then when others ask you to submit your personal ethics to the group ethic you must do so unquestioningly.
It was never displayed so bald as that, but you know the voice I speak of. The voice from above which says to you that paying your bills is better than obeying your morality. However who created the bills? Why humans we must all admit. However who's interest is it in that a man be forced to work unethically 80 hours a week? Who benefits most from the workers production?
Neither I nor the napoleons know. I merely know this tale began many many years ago, far before our grandparents were born.
The many organizations trying to run the world I suppose form the antagonistic element, at least in the lead up to the voice heard round the world. It is important to understand their motivations, for you can bet the napoleons did.
They were not motivated by simple greed, because greed is actually usually just an initiator. I've never seen greed actually put in a day of work. They were motivated by harmony, in particular the harmony of society. What horrible people the napoleons were! Who could ever be against harmony? The song though, was slow, monotonous and unthinking.
The song went:
I go to work to do my job
The job I do to make things work
If I didn't do it
I'd be useless
Hey ho, there's work to be done
It has a good beat to it. You cannot dance to it. Have you ever seen these invisible creatures, the organizations, dance? They can't. They can perform, they can arrange musical numbers for people, but people dance.They must remain invisible, an invisible machine with an invisible purpose: to create more invisible wealth.
I tire for today friends, come back another day and I will try to write for you again.
In the not too distant future, just around the corner from today you might say. It all of course depends on how you perceive time. For some there is never enough time and they are always impatient. For them, don't fear this future, it is many moments away.
However for the thoughtful man, the quiet man for whom weeks seem like years and years pass like days, it happens very soon indeed. Not so soon we cannot prepare, but soon my friends, oh yes soon.
Time is a major character in this story, I warn you it may be the only real character of any force. Does the reader think that people happen to time, or that time happens to people?
I'd be interested to know, especially after I unwind my weary tale.
As I was saying in the first place, in the not too distant future. The world had finally begun to change under the force of the hands that had worked it for so long. Changed marched slowly, but with such determination that every year the sweeping changes moved faster and faster. It was as if the hands of the drummer had begun to rebel against the great conductor of the orchestra. Then the horns joined in. That however is getting ahead of the game.
The story of ten million napoleons started rather innocently. It was a Thursday, arguably the most hateful day of the week. The cogs in motion had been moving for some time, silently. The napoleons (as I will refer to them from now on, to not weary the reader overmuch), were all in different positions. Yet the voice heard round the world was not many, it was not like ten million, it was one voice. That one voice said the shortest and most powerful word in the English language. The voice said "No!"
Everybody stopped to listen, for the first time in years it seemed. It had not been years since they listened at all understand. The world of humans had listened as much as they could. However the noise of the machines of industry had made their ears insensitive to the quiet movement of the cogs of change.
These many voices who had joined together, many speaking up for the first time, were not all strong voices. Some were light and reedy, others were deep and rough. Some where timid and hardly used. The rough ones were over used.
The tone was why people listened, and the tone had in truth taken longest to set. It had started at the very start of organized thought and perhaps even before recorded history. The moment one had more than another, or one man tricked his brother, the die was cast. Falling through the ages of man, rattling on the way down. You and I know this rattle. We've heard history happen. Such is the rattle of the movement of change.
The tone was confident. The napoleons stood out not for wealth, strength or size, but for strength of character. These men, women, and people of many shapes stood out alone for knowing themselves, their worth, and their status. They stood out further because they desired better for themselves and their children.
That's the odd part of the early part of this story, because isn't it so human to love yourself and love your kids? In the era preceding this event that desire had been twisted.
If you love yourself, you must give of yourself the voices of society said. Such lovely carefully crafted almost facts. Working is of course a virtue, didn't you know?
Then they took those two beautiful life affirming facts and twisted them hard. To satisfy your desire to be productive and to give you must give more than you have they said. Minor alterations, you and I could probably agree. The voices spoke on how a large group is better than a small group, or an individual. This rang especially true for those with large hearts. Those with pride in their work were the most hurt.
The worst hurt, the hurt that festered and grew was this: if you love others, and you love work, then when others ask you to submit your personal ethics to the group ethic you must do so unquestioningly.
It was never displayed so bald as that, but you know the voice I speak of. The voice from above which says to you that paying your bills is better than obeying your morality. However who created the bills? Why humans we must all admit. However who's interest is it in that a man be forced to work unethically 80 hours a week? Who benefits most from the workers production?
Neither I nor the napoleons know. I merely know this tale began many many years ago, far before our grandparents were born.
The many organizations trying to run the world I suppose form the antagonistic element, at least in the lead up to the voice heard round the world. It is important to understand their motivations, for you can bet the napoleons did.
They were not motivated by simple greed, because greed is actually usually just an initiator. I've never seen greed actually put in a day of work. They were motivated by harmony, in particular the harmony of society. What horrible people the napoleons were! Who could ever be against harmony? The song though, was slow, monotonous and unthinking.
The song went:
I go to work to do my job
The job I do to make things work
If I didn't do it
I'd be useless
Hey ho, there's work to be done
It has a good beat to it. You cannot dance to it. Have you ever seen these invisible creatures, the organizations, dance? They can't. They can perform, they can arrange musical numbers for people, but people dance.They must remain invisible, an invisible machine with an invisible purpose: to create more invisible wealth.
I tire for today friends, come back another day and I will try to write for you again.
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