Curate, connect, and discover
in this world there is a price you must pay - the fee of convenience. it is an insidious thing; all-knowing, pervasive; it is what has ruled us for generations and what will rule us for ages to come. but how far will you go, for the fee of convenience? how much will you sacrifice, for the easy way out? at what times are you left with no choice at all, knowing despite all efforts that the easy way out is the only way through?
in this world, we have commodified the concept of ability in and of itself. have we not spared a thought for those lacking? those who are not the same as us, yet the same nonetheless. those who are still human; still deserving even if they cannot afford the toll. to live is enough. to suffer is enough. to be present is enough. to feel is enough. we are all enough. have we not given a chance to those who are in the most desperate of straits? have we not offered a glance to those who are obscured by the gauzelike curtain of this commercialized display? is it too late? are there too many?
for whom does this bell toll? for whom does this toll collect? for what use is a gambler to an empty hall of figureheads, counting coins and dealing in change that dissipates as suddenly as smoke in the wind?
do not pay the toll; do not fear the struggle; do not deny the truth.
to what ends will profit drive us apart, behind empty lines? for how long will the fees we scrounge through our sweat, blood, tears, hardship, and struggle be exchanged for the currencies running a circus of oppression; dead coins dropping in a puppeteer's hands, devalued, as their worth plummets and the toll rises in steep, sharp inflation all the more?
there is another thing, in this world, worth being afraid of. the futility of complacency.
i fear growing stronger; for that i may lose all that i have - all that they have afforded me -- all that i have stowed away like molded breadcrumbs on a sinking ship, in the name of the debtors who have stripped me of worth until i am but a rat chained to the shackles of their standards. a ruler of the ruling class. an ode to senseless pain. i fear growing stronger, knowing that it is their goal.
do not pay the toll; do not be complacent; do not listen without ears or know without knowing. do not deny this truth: you are worth beyond measure.
break their rulers. seize the means of collection and exploitation. do not give in; do not give up - for it is what they are aiming for.
in the glass house of convenience, are we not all hypocrites? do you presume yourself to be free of sin?