I was around nine or ten when I realized my family wasn’t just “not rich”, we weren’t even in the same ballpark as the middle-class kids. Other kids had nicer clothes, better toys, bigger houses. Their parents drove cars that didn’t sound like they were gasping for air. And I remember thinking, Why can’t we all have nice things? What’s stopping that from happening?

That’s when I learned about the unspoken caste system we still live in. The rules are simple: push down the many, lift up the wealthy and powerful. It’s a horrible way to run a planet. It doesn’t advance society, it chains it to the same rusted anchor.

Around that same time, I started going to church with friends. My family’s never been religious, but I liked hanging out. I became friends with a girl whose dad, Mr. McLeese, was the church janitor. I thought he was the coolest guy, just living life, keeping the place clean, and somehow always smiling. I started helping him, not for the few bucks he’d slip me, but because I wanted to feel that kind of contentment.

But then I noticed something: Mr. McLeese drove a beat-up old car that barely worked, while the pastor rolled in with a shiny new Jaguar. That’s when the curtain lifted. The guy quietly keeping everything running got scraps, while the man preaching about humility, “service,” and financial sacrifice was collecting enough from the offering plate to drive luxury.

That’s when it hit me: money and power aren’t just tools, in the wrong hands, they’re poison.

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The Weight of Money

Money is just a made-up system of paper, numbers, and rules designed to confuse people into handing over more than they should have to for basic survival. But somewhere along the line, it became a status symbol. The more you have, the better you’re treated, regardless of who you are as a person. If merit were rewarded, the Mr. McLeese’s of the world would reign supreme.

And yes, I’ve had to make choices I hated because of money. Anyone raising a kid has. I’ve gone without eating for days just to make sure my child had food, clothes, and a roof. That’s the reality for countless parents. Meanwhile, our so-called leaders, the ones who are supposed to work for us, have stock portfolios that seem to move with suspiciously good timing. Maybe it’s luck. Or maybe they’re just pushing the levers that benefit themselves.

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If I Could Change the System Tomorrow

I’d start with this:

• Religion out of government. Practice your faith if you want, but leave it at the door when you clock in to serve the public.
• Term limits for every federal position. No more clinging to power until you die in office.
• Abolish the Electoral College. Popular vote wins, period. We have the technology to make it work securely.
• Actual accountability. No more pretending trillion-dollar national debt is fine while regular people are drowning in medical bills.

I like the Star Trek vision of the future, but I know “no money” is a fantasy. Even in space, we’d need some form of exchange, maybe barter. But right now, our version of currency is designed to keep most of us scrambling while the few get richer.

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Why I’m Writing This

I want to believe we could fix things without a WWIII scenario, but I’m not naive, power-hungry governments have a long track record of making the worst decisions. I still hold on to a little hope for a Star Trek–style utopia, but every year, that hope fades. Especially since 2016, when we learned just how far “crazy” and cruelty could take someone in politics.

This blog is my way of saying: enough.
I want readers to be just as pissed off at the absurdity of our society’s unfairness. Not to wallow in it, but to demand change. I’m not talking about some caricature of communism where the government doles out equal rations. I’m talking about tipping the balance back to the 99%, because we matter.

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Where We Go From Here

The easiest thing people can do right now is start talking, to each other, not to politicians who only care about their next check. Share these posts. Comment. Disagree if you want, but engage. Think beyond the box we’ve been handed.

Because if we don’t start shifting the tide ourselves, the people in power sure as hell won’t do it for us.

You can follow along, comment, and subscribe (free) at www.theoriginalrage.com. The conversation starts here. Let’s make it loud enough that it can’t be ignored.