I have a quote from my book, The Wealth of the Great Kingdom:
"To have control over others is power; to have control over oneself is mastery."
In simpler terms, controlling others means mastering their emotions so they acknowledge you as stronger or smarter. However, controlling your emotions is far more challenging.
I believe the only true human freedom resides in our thoughts and our ability to choose. Everything else is a dependency created by our environment—a chain we have carried ever since human societies first emerged.
This brings me to another quote from the same book:
"The only reason a person constantly finds fault in someone or something else is because of their own weakness."
Which leads to the central question: Why are we always dissatisfied?
We complain about politicians, yet when election day comes, we rarely bother to read their policy platforms. We don't take the time to meet them, ask the questions that matter to us, or evaluate whether they truly deserve our vote. Driven by raw emotion, we make hasty, unexamined choices.
There are countless examples of this emotional cycle. Recently, I’ve noticed how frequently people throw around the term "elites." As another quote from my book states:
"Doubt is the most dangerous advisor."
We are officially governed by elites—politicians and corporate magnates. In the eyes of the majority, they appear to be the chosen ones of fate. To me, however, they are merely ordinary people. Why? Because most of them are deeply beholden to the moneylenders. I am not referring solely to sordid scandals or compromising material used against influential figures; the dependency runs much deeper.
You might ask, "Who controls them, then?" The short answer: The money lenders—the financial system itself.
Consider the story of a former German billionaire who once admitted:
"I was one of the richest men in Germany. I owned castles and yachts. I thought everything was permitted to me. But the moment I stepped into a business of geopolitical significance, I found myself in the grip of forces far stronger than I was. I realized I was a billionaire, yet ultimately a nobody."
When asked who those controlling forces were, he was afraid to even utter their names.
The reality is that in the ocean, there is always a bigger fish. And if you think those at the top are emotionless, you are mistaken. They are driven by the very same core emotion: fear—fear for their lives and fear of losing their wealth. No matter how dissatisfied you feel, do not assume those at the top are living in peace. The system simply doesn't allow it, because its foundational ruler is the monetary system itself.
The Connection to "The Pharaoh’s Idea"
This concept brings us directly to the comic strip The Pharaoh’s Idea.
In the story, the Pharaoh grants "freedom" to his slaves by paying them one coin for every stone they carry. It appears to be liberation, but it is merely the illusion of freedom. The former slaves still carry the heavy stones—only now they do so voluntarily, driven by the desire for money, food, and status.
Total freedom cannot exist within a structured society. Living alongside others inherently requires compromise; otherwise, we descend into pure anarchy. Instead of chasing absolute freedom, we should focus on building a life that is peaceful, balanced, and fair.
Yet, everything circles back to our emotions. When we allow ourselves to be manipulated, trapped by past grievances, or forced into defending dogmatic worldviews, we lose the ability to think critically. We remain trapped in a cycle with no way out.
As long as unchecked emotion governs humanity, these systemic issues will persist. Perhaps a properly trained artificial intelligence, programmed to serve genuine ethics and human dignity, could help cultivate a more peaceful and equitable world. Even then, it won't be completely "free"—because true peace always requires limits—but it might finally offer us a fair chance at tranquility.

"No one is more enslaved than the one who falsely believes he is free." — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
ReplyDeleteThe freedom of modern man lasts exactly until the monthly bills arrive. Sezgin
ReplyDelete"Freedom is nothing but the opportunity to become better, whereas slavery is the certainty of remaining as you are." — Albert Camus
ReplyDeleteEveryone is free to make a choice. The choice is free, but the consequences always have a cost. Sezgin
ReplyDelete"Money is a new form of slavery, distinguished from the old only by the fact that it is impersonal—there is no human relationship between master and slave." — Leo Tolstoy
ReplyDeleteLabels change—from slaves to citizens—but the shackles of the system remain the same. Sezgin
ReplyDelete"True control is not achieved through force, but through the manipulation of the mind so that people come to love their servitude." — Aldous Huxley
ReplyDeleteParents control their children, but the system controls the parents themselves. Sezgin
ReplyDelete"The so-called freedom in our society is simply a long leash. You are allowed to walk around, but only as far as the rope reaches." — Charles Bukowski
ReplyDelete"The system was not created to serve the individual; the individual has been turned into a cog that sustains the system." — Erich Fromm
ReplyDelete"If you want to know who really rules over you, simply look at whom you are not allowed to criticize." — Voltaire
ReplyDelete