“Do you want the blue pill or the red pill?” This was the question posed by Morpheus to Neo in the hit movie, The Matrix. The blue pill would leave Neo in the illusion, that is his life, — while the red pill would suspend the illusion, revealing the reality of his existence. Neo is warned that the red pill will turn his life upside down, and he will face painful truths. The blue pill will leave him in blissful ignorance. Ahh, but Neo knows something is not quite right. There is a “truth” he must confront. He opts for the red pill, and his life is changed forever. Reality is not what he thought. Shock overwhelms him at first. Later, he is motivated to action. And finally, he is empowered through commitment. The Matrix was brilliant in plot and production, — thought provoking and entertaining.
The movie is a metaphor for what I experienced at a recent town hall with my Congressional Representative. I actually felt sorry for my Representative as she fielded questions from attendees. Then, again, I really don’t know what she expected. The meeting was held on a weekday, on a college campus, and in the middle of the day. You certainly weren’t going to get a representative cross section of constituents under those circumstances. Employees and employers in the private sector have other priorities that demand their attention at that time, and day of the week. As I listened to the many questions and concerns, I wished I had a handful of red pills. I would have walked around the room and handed them out.
In her opening comments, our Representative (R) said she did not wish to discuss the recently passed Omnibus Budget. The red pill had been removed. That was an effort to suspend any realities of budget constraint, as everything we were about to address involved spending. Naturally there was a group there with a clear agenda, and that was to discredit the Representative. This rather loud and aggressive group wrapped comments and applause around subjects like: — the need for expansive powers in the EPA; more regulation in — everything — (I guess); the need for clean water; the threat of earth-ending “global warming”; and the need for a single-payer government-run healthcare system.
I thought, “Is my reality, somehow, different from the people expressing these concerns?” I had gotten up that morning, taken a shower with clean water, made coffee from the tap, had a great breakfast the Dept. of Agriculture and FDA would be proud of, dressed warmly for the winter weather, and drove my “EPA” compliant pickup (pollution control included) to the meeting. I walked into a tax-payer funded Community Center, heated with energy provided by our local public utility, to express my concerns. Aside from the federal government running huge deficits, having gigantic unfunded liabilities, and my healthcare premiums having skyrocketed under the ACA, things seemed pretty good. But, for at least 50% of the attendees, this is not enough. There was a consensus among some that corporations are “evil,” and “profits” are an unnecessary part of a financial statement. Tell that to my banker! I wonder how they got paid or were able to retire. Maybe they have some blue pills mixed in their vitamins.
Don’t get me wrong. There were a few voices of reason, but I walked away from the experience seeing a divided nation. A very nice lady behind me finally could not hold back. She, like others, had grown impatient with being passed over and drowned out. “It is great that you want these things, but who is going to pay for it?” she said. There it was, — A BIG RED PILL! To which I said, “Thank you! I am glad somebody finally had the courage to say something!” To her credit, our Representative brought the meeting to a timely end. I think many of our Representatives know that the size and scope of government, and services being demanded by the voters, is unsustainable. They are just afraid to give us the red pill, — that the shock will be too great, — that they would be fired by voters who always want a quick fix. So, they cajole and placate the voters forever kicking the can down the road, — Republicans and Democrats both.
It was a discouraging experience. There are real concerns that need to be addressed: illegal immigration; national security; erosion of civil liberties; national sovereignty & pending trade agreements; sending our youth into never ending conflicts; on-going federal deficits; de-industrialization of America; and deterioration of the American culture. Instead we are distracted with manufactured issues like “global warming” and the need for an even bigger and intrusive government. Is it any wonder that this is the “Year of the Outsider?” Some are tired of the nonsense peddled by both parties. The outsiders use a non-PC, populist message to attract voters. I worry. My only desire is that people would first turn to their own Constitution for the answers, rather than a “strong man” to fix what is wrong.
I leave you with an insightful quote from 1996 by author, Sam Francis which was recently quoted by Rush Limbaugh on his radio show: “Sooner or later, as the globalist elites seek to drag the country into conflicts and global commitments, preside over the economic pastoralization of the United States, manage the delegitimization of our own culture, and the dispossession of our people, and disregard or diminish our national interests and national sovereignty, a nationalist reaction is almost inevitable and will probably assume populist form when it arrives.”
Francis must have taken the red pill over 20 years ago, as it is an accurate description of America today.
