A reading of my article – What of the Future
(c) K Wicks
future
The Will To Work
It’s taken much of my thought over the years, and has been mentioned here and there in articles but in mine notably Work ethic and employment. But it’s been mentioned by way of comment on social media, how after first-hand experience, there is a large portion of a generation not wanting or willing to do something that is necessary, instead looking for the artistic job, or happy environment perhaps, and feel certain work is ‘beneath them’. And from my experience, this really isn’t a new problem, but is one that has spread.
Some people are just lazy, you can’t get away from that. Some are confused and don’t know what they want to do, some do but either don’t have the skills or opportunity available, so do nothing. Like I said, they were always there, and you could choose to be like that, and be left behind. Or you could get out there, make opportunities for yourself, or try something else as a fill in. But as it has been observed, and I can’t deny it, the long-term opportunities aren’t there, or are being taken away. Back in the day, you had more job security, your pay would go a bit further, you might even be able to save up and buy a house, start your own business, go travelling or afford holidays. Well, that has been well and truly thrown in the bin, for lots of people didn’t entirely notice the squeeze of systems that started a good while ago now.
Credit card and loans. Back in the day, before credit cards and loans were handed out willy nilly, we are led to believe that people had to save up for things, normal things like holidays, appliances, anything above and beyond the living costs of having a roof over your head. Cars were expensive (although you could always get a second-hand banger since I’ve been around), TV’s weren’t in every house and VCR’s were pricey too. You didn’t have the money, you waited. Birthday and Christmas money were special, because they usually went towards things that were just a bit out of your range as a kid. Same for grown-ups it seems. Before the lottery (which has an article in progress, but crosses into this one) people used to play the pools, trying to get a little win that would be little boost to the household purse. These last couple of decades though has seen borrowing on a grand scale, from citizen and government alike, borrowing and spending, borrowing more, spending more. It’s relentless. All about now, quickly, more. On the glad and sorry they used to call it, glad you’ve got it, sorry you’ve got to pay it back.
But what are people working for or towards these days? Even people who are driven and motivated and finding it tough, last few years have thrown many off kilter, rearranged plans and dreams, changed the entire trajectory of some people’s lives. So, I can’t blame people for being distracted or from having their thoughts redirected to something more meaningful. I guess society just can’t afford for everyone to do it at once which is the concern if a whole generation do it. We’ll see, i suspected it was because they are going to roll out automation and want people working remotely, or not at all. Just consuming and integrating with the metaverse they want everyone to simulate life in, while they roll out restrictive ‘smart cities’ for everyone. Sounds horrifying to me, but if it’s painted as a quiet, pollution free, controlled utopia, where you can just relax all the time and chill on the bean bags, catch up with your mates, do a bit of creative work if you ‘feel like it’ you know, google office style. That’s the hook, so you hand yourself over and before you know it you’ve got Logans Run meets the Time Machine’s Eloi. It’s a super creepy idea, and probably completely far-fetched, and I want it to be. I hope I look back at some of the things I have suggested and laugh, because I certainly don’t want to see any of them come to pass. But if they do, I can’t help thinking the ones who are going to be part of that future, just walked right into it…
(c) K Wicks
A Raw Deal
Kids are getting a real raw deal at the moment. It’s relentless. The most recent two things, firstly, in Wales they are looking to ban children under 16 from buying tea and coffee. Apparently because of obesity and sugar intake, but completely not mentioning the energy drinks laden with chemicals and sugar they have been pushing and encouraging for years. The second is about a secondary school somewhere in the UK deciding that for summer, boys can wear skirts if they don’t want to wear trousers, to be more inclusive. No shorts allowed. I’m outraged on their behalf as I hated not being allowed to wear trousers at school, we had to wear tights in the winter if our legs got cold, end of. And this seems similar, if you are too hot, wear a skirt, end of. But what are they really doing it for? Surely if it was about being inclusive, you would have choice for all. Trousers, skirts or shorts, for all. Is it just to make waves? Or do they really just want children to feel weird, and pressured, and restricted by bizarre rules and regulations? It says the parents are not happy about it, but I would like to know what the kids think.
They seem to have been dealt a weird blow over the last few years, and it shows no signs of letting up or normalising anytime soon. Their future has been impaired beyond belief from my view, not only have they had to contend with constantly changing rules and regulations around their homelife, school life and socialising, but they are being conditioned to know it can be disrupted at any time thereafter. And we see how the powers that be seem awfully focused on getting children to partake in the experimental jab doing the rounds, bribing them through offers of ice-cream, cinema tickets, calling them ‘superheroes’ on posters, all very telling and obvious. Or not, because not all do see it. They still think the system is there to help. But to the rest of us it appears they are being groomed. That is another word that will pop up later in the article, and with good reason.
It seems to be a new world, and it sure isn’t a brave one. It’s one where some adults seem quite obsessed with exposing children to adult themes and concepts, without them having the experience or emotional maturity to understand them. Children can be very impressionable, and how they interpret things is not like an adult would at all, as well it also depending on what age they are being exposed. What may affect someone profoundly at one age, could have just passed them by if only a few years later. It helps to mould, shape and influence them. It strikes me as easier to manipulate people if they are worried and confused, either by what or who they are, leads to uncertainty and insecurity. And one that requires an authorative body to ‘help’ to solve that uncertainty and issues around it, so we are led to believe. But what if that authorative body had an ulterior motive, and not your best interests at heart? They don’t want to see you happy and adjusted to life, because then they wouldn’t be needed. At all. If we understood we are capable of looking after ourselves and each other, the ‘ruling elite’ would be surplus to requirement. And they know it.
Grooming. Here is where I will revisit that word, it should hold meaning in the UK (and far beyond I’m sure) it has been an issue in this country for decades and only a few people have tried to sound the alarm on it for a while. The media have finally and very unwillingly picked up the story, of thousands of children across the country in various towns, mainly female we are told, being coerced and abused on a shocking scale. But what is even more shocking, is how the authorities have completely turned a blind eye. ALL of them. Social services, media, police, councils, churches, politicians, teachers, business owners to name but a few. Why? Because they don’t want to be seen as racist apparently or inflame local tensions. Because if they were talking about the problem, it would highlight very clearly it is a cultural one, that predominately it is men of Pakistani origin or background. One can only assume that a number of people in authority were also involved as it appeared to suit their purpose very much to keep it all ticking over. I’m in my 40’s now, but knew as a teenager you didn’t want to get too friendly with the blokes that ran the local Indian restaurant. They encouraged young people to stay after hours, offering drinks and smokes. A ‘friendly’ place to hang out when the doors are locked. Although I was 18 at the time, as was my friend I was with, it didn’t feel right and I didn’t want to stay, so we left and I didn’t go back. And it may have been nothing at the time, and not what I thought, but I didn’t want to risk it. I’ve known for a long time that the ruling establishment is not there to help, protect or save us, but they want you to think they are. Now it has become more obvious than ever that their intentions are not entirely admirable, and if anything, are really quite sinister towards all of us, adults and children alike.
I’m not sure what kind of education young people would do well to learn these days, but I’m giving it thought. They are changing the goalposts of life very quickly and where one would normally be able to think years ahead (or even months), it has been hampered. But what once was no longer is, and what is will no longer be. A new time is coming…
(c) K Wicks
Cash Buys Freedom
I have covered this in previous articles Cash, Monitoring and Do you want to be monitored? But as it keeps rolling forward, I will continue to try and really explain how this can be used against people, and to control them and their purchases, if you haven’t quite seen it for what it is yet.
Imagine when you were a kid (if you can remember), and imagine you getting given pocket money. Back in the day, I would have to earn my pocket money usually by helping with chores, but some got it for nothing (and some not at all), but the point was, once it was put into your hand, it was yours. You could spend it where you liked, on what you wanted (within age limits obviously), and for a short time, you had a bit of money freedom. Choices.
Now imagine, someone giving you your pocket money, and then taking 20% back, because you know, that’s how money works, by going back into the pot. That’s tax for you. Then they say that they will hold onto the other 80% for you, and that you can have it when you want, but you have to ask them first for it. And you can spend it where you want, as long as they approve it. And they will charge you a small amount for holding it for you. That’s a bank. So your pockey money giver is now presiding over your money and you have to ask for it. They decide that they don’t want to give it you, instead, they will go with you to spend it and watch what you buy. If they don’t like it, they won’t let you buy it. Honestly, this was an awful part of childhood, being monitoried and having your purchases decided and deemed acceptable or not, why people want it as an adult astounds me.
So, if you earnt or got given £1.00, and were only allowed 80p of it, and of that 80p they said you could only buy toilet roll with it, you wouldn’t be as excited to get given 80p would you? (unless you really needed it, of course). Well that seems to be how living costs work now, they set the amount and tell you all your money has to go on that one thing. People are being babied (and have been for some time now), and money used as a weapon against us and to control us. They set and bring down the value of it, they increase prices, they hold down wages. It’s so obvious it’s sickening, yet people still stumble around confused and worried they can’t afford stuff. You aren’t meant to! That’s the point.
Being able to earn money, and spend it on living shouldn’t even be necessary given the resources and technology we have access to individually and as a collective, we should have plenty of food and land to go round. But the people calling the shots don’t want health, freedom and advancement – because they can’t control what happens thereafter. I believe what they want with cashless and cardless, is to scan people so that you can only ‘buy’ your rationed amount. No unauthorised purchases. By taking away the till person, there is no-one to argue with. You don’t scan in, no access. Food rations allocated on weight, health and compliance. No sharing, or helping others, you won’t be allowed.
Let’s imagine again, but this time, imagine a control freak. Who needs to know your every move, where you go, what you do, who you speak with, what you say, what you eat, what you think. Sounds like a stalker or controller, doesn’t it? Well, that’s the one world government to oversee us all they are after. Who cannot bear to think that we can (quite competently I might add), flourish without their maniacal leadership and desperate grip of control. We need to detach ourselves, and soon, before they have everyone monitored from cradle to grave with internal implants (you know, the ones you won’t be able to escape from because they are inside you), because that is where it is going, if they haven’t already started doing it behind people’s backs. They are being very open and clear with their plans, and being distracted or in denial won’t help anyone. That is partly what they are counting on, a lethargy and disconnect towards reality, and wanting people to overlook their general malaise and instead give a warm welcome to their dysfunctional altered and newly created metaverse.
Once they make society seem too complicated to navigate for the average person, they will gladly accept a new more streamlined version of ‘society and reality’. But that will be their undoing, once you are plugged in, I don’t think there is any getting out. Movies would have you believe that there is a way out, or that Someone else will save the day, but we have seen that is not the case. You save yourself, and by doing so you can help to save others. From the system of rules and regulations that will follow, which will seek to control and dictate every aspect of people’s lives. Freedom may not be what we think it is, but it isn’t what they say it is. But back to the main point, cash. If we are able to earn cash, and spend it where we chose then I don’t see how their plan can work. For years we have been led to believe they wanted everything digital for tax purposes, so they can make sure they know how much you earnt, and who paid you. Making sure you have to pay through a bank so the money is traceable. And on the face of it, it sounded legit (despite the fact taxes aren’t really legit). But now we have seen how they appropriate those taxes and squander them and inflate their own wealth, draining the very people they pretend to serve, right under our noses no less. No wonder they think we are stupid, we have behaved so, and walked straight into their trap. It’s a precarious time, and we should be mindful of what comes next, taking a bit of time to really think through what is occurring, where it will lead and just how people really fit into their future plans, maybe they think if they mess with us long enough and create enough problems for us, we will just turn on ourselves. But I can’t help thinking there is something they haven’t quite factored in, I’m not sure what it is yet, but the feeling is growing…
(c) K Wicks
Cash
I see lots of talk about cashless, the people for and the people against. I’ll put my two pence worth in.
I find it a strange concept, but work well with it, money. Cash has been the norm for a very long time, and in principle, theory and practice it works. You earn it, you spend it, you live. It seems simple. And it is. But somewhere along the line, someone decided to shoehorn themselves between the simple transaction of one person giving it and one person receiving it. The banks are the middle man between you and your money. They hold it for you and in turn get paid for that privilege. In fact banks only get to make huge amounts of money, because we have money. They also then get to see what you do with your money, there is then a financial record for you. It’s a win win for them.
Then someone else decided that there needed to be another middle man between the seller, the bank and the purchaser. They introduced the merchant fees via card payments, so now there are two middle men making money from the seller/buyer transaction. So now you have two outside parties essentially making money from the fact that you have it, and that you decide to spend it. Seems ridiculous to me, but what do I know.
Now, with the looming threat of cashless, I felt there is a need to review cash again and how it actually affords a number of freedoms many seem to overlook. That is my assumption, and it could be that people may just not care, but either way the outcome doesn’t change because you may feel differently about it. It is not the idea in principle of having a cashless society that bothers me, on the face of it, it sounds practical and efficient. All your monetary transactions recorded and monitored, reviewed and analysed. Doesn’t sound weird at all. Much. Have to say, despite the fact that I lead a very boring ‘record’, I don’t really want there being a central point showing what I watch, eat, read, wear, like, don’t like, who I talk to, what I say. Why should that be recorded anywhere – back in the day you would have had to pull together an awful lot of receipts for that, and follow someone for a really long time. Now most people share all that on public forums, which is fine if they don’t mind. I personally still believe that I wouldn’t want anyone finding my personal diary if i had one. And that is what it would contain. Your hopes, dreams and fears. Who you like and hate that week. But now it is all online, shared on a daily basis, freely. Another thing that I don’t understand, and think maybe I am just wrong about people and they really don’t mind what I see as an intrusion.
Back to the issue of cash – the problem I instantly think off with that idea, is all the areas of life it will affect. Firstly though, I’ll put the plus sides forward and you see if you think you personally will benefit from any of these. They will be able to make sure you pay all your taxes on earnings because they will know about all your income. They can stop drug dealers and money laundering (but fail to mention the amount of it that happens online). And as far as I know criminals have bank accounts and crypto currency is being used in all sorts of enterprises, so it might not minimise that after all. That’s the advertised benefits for the system creators.
So, what are the upsides to us the user of this digital credit system, the ones whose money is being taken from us or will simply bypass us, to be given back at somebody else’s whim, because from where I’m sitting, all the benefits are with the controller of your money. As we are pushed into a society where social credit scores are becoming the norm, reward based games and point scoring being inducted into people’s psyche, I can’t help but worry that access to your finances will be dictated in the future as they try to have more control generally over people’s decisions in life. Like a parent who decides if you are ‘allowed’ to spend that much, or are ‘allowed’ to take part in an activity. We know these systems already exist in other countries, so it is not unreasonable to think it’s a blueprint to be tried on others.
Maybe I am wrong to think people should be outraged and horrified at the idea of someone telling you where to go, what to buy and who not to talk to. As a grown up the idea of being treated like a child again is awful and one I won’t be going along with. But to my surprise I have witnessed multiple examples of people handing over responsibility for themselves and their lives to the state. I can only imagine they think it is there to help you, or look after you, or to wrap an arm around you and tell you it will be alright. Once I looked into it further, I could see this was not by accident. I enjoy reading social history to try and work out how we got to where we are. And I suspect the concept was born after WWII when the ‘cradle to grave’ ran alongside the NHS being created. Giving the people the impression the government was here to look after you from birth to death.
Weirdly though, I read a lot about the Victorian era growing up and had no idea there would be government handouts and benefits when you got older. I believed that if you didn’t work, you didn’t eat, therefore you would die or end up in the workhouse/poor house. So thought I had better be resourceful and employable. From around 10 years old I thought this was how would be. I always thought at a minimum I could be a chamber maid or cleaner and was frustrated I wasn’t able to work until I was 16. It was quite a surprise to learn about benefits for unemployed people as well as disability benefit which made sense, and child benefit (which I couldn’t get my head around why we had that at all). I also thought it seemed like a way to control people, restrict how much they have and tarnish them. It used to have a bit of a stigma attached to say you were on benefits, not so much now. But on the face of it they were a ‘helping hand’ whereas I saw it as an apron string being tied around you, and it felt as such for the short time I had to claim unemployment in my late teens.
I kind of see the same thing with only cashless. The only way they can monitor, dictate, control and decide things for you is through your ability to live – money. It can all tie back to that. If you have to ‘scan’ in anywhere to buy food, what if you are rejected? What if the system crashes? What if they freeze your account? What if you don’t have enough to buy what you need? You can’t borrow any money because you aren’t ‘allowed’. It used to sound like crazy talk, and now it’s a potential reality. Sugar tax, another one that raises alarm bells (trust me, it’s all tied in), they decide you are too fat for whatever scale someone somewhere decided, so you are put on a diet by the state (because you know, got to save the NHS). You try to but a treat. Denied. You want to have a drink, water only. And if anyone else buys you something, they will know because of all the cameras and because you had to ‘log in’. That person will either be denied too, or deducted social credit points.
The odd thing about that is, some people do genuinely seem to like the idea, they have admitted they cannot control their own lives or finances, and they would feel safer and happier if someone else took responsibility. Or, they openly admit they want to see people ‘punished’ for lack of will power or habits. I can’t see any other reason for it, why else would people be okay with that idea becoming part of their lives or inflicting it on others, of having an overseer or surrogate parent setting all the rules and enforcing them.
Words and their real meaning seem to have been terribly lost of late, and the concepts that accompany those words are being overlooked or not given the time they deserve. I like to use words to describe exactly what I mean, but now know that not everyone has the same meaning for things. Not everyone can imagine with pictures in mind, but however you do, please try and imagine where this all goes. And if you do not see a problem with where we are or how we got here, then good for you. I however, am keeping a keen eye on what is currently unfolding at an alarming pace. These are strange times upon us.
A further piece on Monitoring if you need some help with vision of how far they might take it for the next step.
(c) K Wicks
Different Futures…
Another excerpt from my now published Meeting in the Middle of Nowhere…
Before we knew of Aphanstasia we decided to move to Spain. It was a leap of faith, we hadn’t been married long and tried to think of the best way to use our resources to have a good life. We discussed everything and we moved. It was hard and there was a lot to organise and sort out, but because he functioned great in the moment, it seemed a breeze really.
Only a small hiccup of a drunk taxi driver at the last hurdle trying to get to the airport to leave. But another one saved the day and we got there. The drama that unfolded when we were there though couldn’t have been anticipated and was caused mainly by a long list of shoddy agents and bad neighbours. We didn’t really have a chance to settle down and find our feet to plan anything. Instead going from one idea to another and having to change it every other week because of what we had found out, or how we had been treated. It was extremely frustrating. And it was in these frustrating times that we stumbled across this major difference in our thought process. He wasn’t planning ahead at all, he had no concept of our future in Spain and never had. That kind of explained why he always seemed to have objections to things, he speaks his mind at the time, there’s no saving it for later. It can make him seem quite outspoken, but it really isn’t on purpose I now know.
I have to be honest though, when I realised I was on my own with planning our future, it sealed the deal for me. I was already struggling and had thought I wanted to come home, I just didn’t want to ruin it for him. But deep down I must have known we weren’t going to be staying in Spain. I was grossly under prepared going there anyway (I can’t even speak the language), and knew this was the right thing to do.
I couldn’t do it for us both not on home soil. I had spent over thirty years working out how to function in this society, it sounds awful to say, but I actually felt too old to go through it all again. I needed the support of familiarity – not people, or friends as they are thin on the ground, but where I recognised. I realised that was my reference point, my safety zone. I felt like a duck out of water and wanted to correct it as soon as possible. I don’t often live with my mistakes once I have acknowledged them.
(c) K Wicks (Photography taken in Spain)
MKW Publishing 