The Villain…
Has the “American dream” become the “American nightmare”? Has “the land of opportunity” become “the land of broken promises”? This country was established as a way to pursue a better life, create an environment where anyone can be anything, and epitomize the very essence of the word “freedom”. This is supposed to be a place where the common man is celebrated, and the underdog is favored. It’s an arena that’s supposed to be designed to ignore your origin story and judge you based on your character, and what you’ve made of yourself. Isn’t it?
Why am I asking? Don’t take this as a political ruse, or an attempt to unseat your patriotism. I’m merely pointing out that America has changed. There are no undertones to that, no connotations linked to the word “changed”, it’s merely a statement of fact and an objective observation. I think everyone recognizes this, but their reactions to it are all over the board. I’ve heard the claim that “back in the day”, America was set up to support the rags-to-riches storyline, but now we are devolving into a controlled system with suppressed opportunities. What I want to address in this article is the concept of “the system”.
Image from Luke Stackpoole on Unsplash
Unashamedly plagiarizing off Google, a system is “a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network”. But the system is much more specific. The system is the concept of a powerful, nefarious, and controlling authority/government that seeks to influence you and I to further its own agenda. For example, if someone is stuck in their dead-end job, completing tasks for their boss day-in and day-out for minimal pay, they may claim to be “a victim of the system”. If you have amassed a large amount of debt and the interest/taxes are keeping you from making any financial progress in your life, you may claim to be “stuck in the system”. The idea is that there is always someone out there that is out to get you, and you are powerless to stop them.
This is not a dooms-day post or a call to burn it all down. This is a stop sign, something telling you to pause and take another look at your own personal situation. The way I see it, there is a system, but it’s not necessarily what you think it is. I don’t think that there is a single entity “moving pawns” in an effort to get you to checkmate. I’m not convinced that there’s a centralized power with many moving parts, all pulling you into a meat grinder. I think that there’s many systems, all with unique agendas and strategies. The sad part is that most of the systems we find ourselves stuck in we enter into willingly!
Treading water on your mortgage: you signed on the dotted line.
Barely affording that monthly student loan payment: your signature is in a file somewhere.
Eating ramen because you need to make that car payment: you smiled when they handed you the keys.
Indigence in retirement: you didn’t prioritize saving and investing.
The job where you’re overworked and underpaid: you probably interviewed for it.
The friendships you’ve neglected and lost over the years: you didn’t make time to nurture those relationships.
Image from Michael Moloney on Unsplash
Before everyone gets angry, I understand that there are circumstances in which there are no other options and you didn’t have a choice. I’m not talking about those instances. I’m talking about the person who is complaining about their debts being sent to collections and yet they have that shiny Tesla in their driveway. I’m talking about the guy that has the nicest house in the neighborhood but is forced to rely on others for financial support when he retires. I’m looking at that lady that just paid off her student loans at 65 because she never made work of finding a job that utilized her degree and lived frivolously her whole life. The list of misplaced priorities goes on and on. It’s hard to say, but that’s not America, that’s you.
For the record: I love our country, but I’m not saying America is perfect (don’t even get me started on taxes). Obviously, outlandish conspiracy theories will never go out of style, and there’s no way the government is batting a thousand. But that’s not my point. My point is that sometimes, the person who put you in the system isn’t rubbing his hands together in an office somewhere, he’s looking back at you in the mirror. Recognize that, and you have taken the very important first step on the stairway to success. Now where do you go from here? What do you do to escape the systems you’ve found yourself in, and what further steps do you take to actually build wealth? Those decisions are also yours to make.
Quote of the week:
“The tortoise wins every time I read the book.”
Offended? Concerned? Want me to write on a different topic?
brett@centennialsec.com or use the “Contact” tab above
