Victims of Mediocracy

Focusing on Freedom is described as the manner of living people desire in pursuit of their "American Dream," i.e., the willingness to do hard work for oneself and one's family while young and able, and to put some earnings aside to build a nest egg for retirement. They expect their efforts would come back to support them at retirement. Freedom cannot exist without responsibility. Freedom without responsibility leads to lawlessness and illegality. If you want freedom for yourself, then you should be responsible for yourself, not to infringe your freedom over others.

There are many who, without scruple or responsibility, strive for their individual version of that "Dream" without restraint or concern for others. Many, by some device: fear, bribery, blackmail, etc., manage to entice many others into being held captive, viciously controlled all in the name of Freedom and the "American Dream." Many workers who struggled and worked hard have had their savings taken away from them (sometimes by Acquisitions, Mergers, or bad investments, and/or flagrant corruption). Union organizations have been eviscerated so businesses' requirement to provide any retirement nest eggs to the workers has become severely undercut. The workers lost nearly everything.

Further, workers have been told to be on their own to invest their savings money on something they don't even understand, such as IRAs, Mutual Funds, or bitcoins. They have taken advantage of the workers' savings for their own self-enriching purposes while giving the impression that the workers' life's savings are secure. Those IRA, Mutual Fund, or bitcoin retirement accounts have only provided meagre returns to the workers' retirement investments, while the predators have used the cheap access to the retirement savings money to enrich themselves by investing for bigger profits. Inevitably, workers were left behind to struggle and fend for themselves, seek additional work after expecting to retire, creating unsettled dissatisfaction, bitterness and resentment, hate and fear among the workers, making them ready to strike out in any direction or end up drowning in their misfortune.

The rich and the greedy cannot stop themselves from seeking more wealth, nor can they be happy with their own successes. They want more power and wealth; thus, they are drowning as well. Thus, mediocrity is exemplified by "ignorant fools" and the predators who end up being victims themselves.

Similarly, in their ego-driven ignorance and greed, politicians, using all manner of media to win elections at any or all costs, create a pendulum of political gamesmanship, swinging between the politicians representing only limited numbers of people on the extremes of the Far Right and the Far Left. They cater to these extremes due to their more clamorous and boisterous demands. Meanwhile, to appease the vast majority in the middle, the politicians only provide lip service to meet their needs. No care for the majority is extended to those in the middle ground between the extremes for fair and balanced policies, as neither extreme is willing to compromise. Consequently, the majority of the public and even their own supporters are left unhappy, disenchanted, distrustful, angry and disillusioned about their hopes for achieving the "American Dream."

So, the question is who the winners are and who are the losers, or who are the real victims in this struggle and vicious scheme. How can we get out of this tragic cycle?

The author, based on many true-life experiences in changing world events and from the drama of real adventures, violence, romance, and humour, while travelling through various parts of the world, showcases love and lust, the ordinary, simplicity; and the dangers of ignorance, fear, racism; and predators among all social classes, showing pain and suffering, and manipulation at all levels. The true happiness is the gold.