World of illusion

[CorbinKale]

Why do we believe what we believe?

Does money have value because we believe it has value? If everyone suddenly believed the scrap of paper in your hand was just a scrap of paper... did the paper change, or did the people?

Is government any different? Does government have power because we believe it has power? If every single person, you, me, the President, everyone... believed that the government had no power, would it have any?

That begs the question- why do we believe what we believe? The answer rushes up from the depths in a panic- FEAR!

I am about to turn 45. Mid-life? Possibly. Crisis? Most definitely. I wonder more and more about the meaning of my life. Is my purpose to serve a government, or should a government serve the people? In my experience, the government will leave you alone, as long as you do what you are told to do. But if you fail to comply, you can follow a logical chain of events that leads to imprisonment or death. Try not paying a parking ticket, for example. Eventually, a warrant will be issued. Eventually, an authority will attempt to place you under arrest. If you refuse to be arrested, force will be applied. If you resist that force with force, you will be incapacitated and imprisoned, or killed in the attempt.

That is what we fear, so we comply with every demand, praying that we stay beneath the notice of the government that threatens us with death. All we have to do to stay alive is to comply. Why? Because that is what we believe.

I think I am ready to believe something else.

[aptpupil]

And what if I believed that the above post didn't exist? Would I still respond to it? What if we all believed that the posts on this forum didn't exist? Would The SK Message Board cease to have a purpose?

Or... what if I believed that my computer was going to malfunction before I was able to finish this sente