Enough is enough! Are you really ready for ‘BIG Positive Change’ that can transform your life permanently?

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Here’s our challenge to you: If you are a middle-class (salaried / self-employed / professional) person, home-maker, university scholar, or retiree at a crossroads and if you are wondering how to figure the right way ahead amid the current uncertainty, chaos, confusion and systematic disempowerment, stay away from mainstream media, social media, entertainment (films, TV, broadcasts, livestreams, esports, videogaming, other forms of addictive content, including mind-agitating music) for a week or 10 days. Instead, consume and digest content on this website, including essays, analyses, forecasts, articles, insights, criticisms, quizzes, surveys, text, videos, lightboxes (pop-up windows), downloadable documents, self-discovery kits, and external links embedded in text.

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Here’s our promise: If you meet our challenge, we promise your life will be transformed; you will succeed in ‘re-wiring’ your brain (that is, you will purify and sharpen your intellect). Your “value system” will be enhanced. You will figure out the way toward self-actualization. You will become an effective instrument in pushing the world toward a ‘reset’, a fresh start for the better.

 

If you choose to stick to your current lifestyle pattern, preferences, comfort zone and choices, however, you will likely end up becoming an accomplice to the silent global ‘social pandemic’ that is perpetuating a flawed, failed system. We believe it is a system that will rapidly (not slowly) and surely drive everyone and everything, including yourself and your family, toward a cliff edge and then “extinction”.

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Allow us to explain.

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This essay was first written on April 12, 2021 (and updated with some embedded links on April 18, 2021), when the results of several state elections in India are/were still a few weeks away, while the nation continues to struggle to ensure adequate supplies of vaccines amid surging COVID-19 cases, even as thousands travel in crowded long-distance trains, or gather to celebrate festivals or attend political rallies as part of electioneering, throwing caution to the winds, and seek to secure liquor or tobacco products amid lockdowns, and remain addicted to a range of addictive content (including live cricket, TV and web videos, films at cinemas, social media, internet, apps, news, fake news, etc).

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When the election results will be finally out in early May 2021, it is likely people will come to know of murky political deals, vote-buying, ‘horse’-trading, unholy alliances, palace intrigues, power grabs, allegations, counter-allegations. By then, voters will have also exhibited their quirky, whimsical, immature, irresponsible streak.

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News media will dissect election results and, with the benefit of hindsight, superimpose facile explanations on facts and figures. Critics will cry hoarse. Losers will cry foul. Nothing will have changed. Everyone will blame everyone else. It’d likely be back to square one. Déjà vu. Name, blame, such a shame!

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•    Is India condemned not to learn key lessons ever?
•    Are Indians cursed to vote for status quo, inertia, stasis time and again?
•    Are we heading toward the point of no return?
•    Is our collective ‘fate’ sealed already?
•    Or, is there still a slim chance to bring about BIG change for the better?
 

The majority in any population, any society or nation are the non-elites. Among the non-elites, the middle-class (middle-income) people constitute a substantial chunk. Along with the so-called lower-class (workers, laborers, the underprivileged and the downtrodden sections of society), the middle-class people constitute the majority.

 

The non-elites, especially the middle-class people, who are relatively more ‘educated’, prosperous and privileged than the lower-class people, can be a tremendous force if they act collectively through co-leadership, coordination, cooperation and collaboration.

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Individually, however, they don’t stand a chance but will continue to be victims of the minority elites’ “divide-and-rule policy”.

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That policy has been implemented over the decades / centuries by stoking among the middle-class people ego, greed, fear, mediocrity (absence of the spirit of excellence), arrogance, insecurity, anxiety, passivity, risk-aversion, defensive attitude, unhealthy competition (get-ahead, dog-eat-dog, frog-pull down-frog mentality), inferiority complex covered up with superiority complex. This creates intolerance, obstinacy, intransigence and non-cooperation among middle-class people vis-à-vis peers, besides igniting other such traits / attributes (the whole spectrum of negative energies).

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As you can see, these negative energies often contradict or offset each other against a background of larger forces like economic cycles and market dynamics, keeping the middle-class people on a treadmill of sorts, with no real progress made in relative terms but creating only an illusion of forward movement.

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This has gone on too far and for too long. The chain has to be broken. Urgently.

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Else, the much-exploited Nature itself will likely crack the whip, resulting in mass extinction. Or, the elites led by multibillionaire techno-feudals will become so powerful they would unleash unconscionable regimes worse than post-apocalyptic, dystopian, totalitarian rule. Or, there will be violent anarchy. It is entirely possible that all the three possibilities could come to pass at the same time, unleashing an apocalyptic perfect storm!

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Unfortunately, this is lost on most middle-class people, busy as they are with busy-busy, business-as-usual lives. Such lifestyle patterns are essentially nothing but mindless, unthinking participation in the rat race operated by the elites.

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To be sure, most of the middle-class people are generally good at heart. But – BUT – they have got trapped, brainwashed and zombified by the elite-operated “system”, resulting in individuals becoming greedy, fearful, intolerant, intellectually lazy, mediocre, selfish, self-centered, self-absorbed, mechanical, and obstinate, intransigent, uncooperative and recalcitrant vis-à-vis peers.

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This, in turn, has made most middle-class individuals short-term-oriented and irresponsible toward their own children’s future, community, society, the environment and the planet. (Continue reading the essay.)

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|| MIDDLE-CLASS MALADIES || GET RICH AND POWERFUL || 2021 FORECAST || BECOME CHANGEMAKERS || INDIA ON CLIFF EDGE || LARGEST DEMOCRACY? || ARE INDIA'S MILLENNIALS SMARTER? || SOUL-SEARCHER ||

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Typically, a middle-class person assumes all he/she has to do is this:

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• land a well-paying job (any job – in government, public sector, private sector, non-governmental sector, or as a self-employed professional / merchant / trader, etc) by hook or by crook;

• Employing means fair or foul, somehow build a lucrative, upwardly mobile career that is expected to prove a gateway to endless prestige and prosperity;

• pay taxes, abide by the law, and “don’t get caught” if you end up treading the “grey zone” or walking a tightrope on the border that separates light and darkness.

 
That, the ambitious, calculating, busy-busy middle-class person appears to believe, is all it takes to reap the benefits of the hyper economic globalization.

 

A typical middle-class person’s mindset, if it’s verbalized, might read something like this:

“Don’t think about the collateral damage wreaked by the same globalization process. Live in denial about the horrible trade-offs made, and the building pressures of socioeconomic fissures among the much-oppressed, extremely-disempowered lower classes of society.”​

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From his/her own perspective, despite his/her mediocrity, the middle-class person sees himself/herself as a valiant hero struggling against all odds to make both ends meet!

 

(“Make both ends meet” = selfish, self-absorbed lifestyle characterized by amassing of assets, and pursuit of pleasures, sense-gratifications, comforts, cheap thrills, “status”, position, indulgences, vices, sins, etc.)

 

This has led to outsourcing or delegating responsibilities of community, society and nation to the elites [the BREdSET nexus: B=business, R=religion, Ed=education, S=science, E=entertainment (& media), and T=technology] and the Establishment (the political class, the government and related institutions and agencies).

 

Employment of the middle-class people at middle and lower levels in the hierarchies of both the BREdSET and Establishment frameworks has ensured the flawed, failed, doom-bound materialisic “system” will get perpetuated.

 

So, a typical middle-class person assumes that the responsibilities of the community, society, the environment and the planet, as well as of change for the better, have to be handled by:

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1. Those to whom they have been entrusted – the BREdSET elites and the creamy layer of the Establishment;
    

2. Or, reformers, activists, Mahatmas, Avatars, Messiahs, intellectuals, new leaders, etc, in case the BREdSET elites and the Establishment fail;
    

3. Other people (“public”), the “followers” of reformers and activists, or revolutionaries.

 

Somehow, the typical middle-class person assumes he/she is exempted from any direct responsibility for the community, society, the environment and the planet.

 

Why does the middle-class person make that assumption?

 

Because she/he thinks he is entitled to a stable, secure, comfortable life at all times. After all, he/she is paying taxes, abiding by the law, making “great” (!) contributions by being part of the workforce, the mainstream society, etc, right?

 

There is an ill-conceived, misplaced sense of entitlement. This is combined with an exaggerated sense of self-importance, in terms of individual contributions made and socioeconomic value brought to society and the “system”.

 

Add to that the almost criminal ignorance of (or indifference to) history, laced with an unhealthy dose of busy-busy hectic, comfort- and prosperity-chasing lifestyle patterns (rat race in the guise of "struggle to make both ends meet"); plus, of course, complete apathy toward the long-term accumulated effects.

 

This deplorable attitude is characterized by the mutually-contradicting negative traits described earlier (selfishness, self-centredness, ego, greed, intolerance, laziness, mediocrity, fear, insecurity, risk-aversion, obstinacy, intransigence, spinelessness, conformism, mindless compliance).

 

So, every middle-class family remains in its cucoon, running the materialism rat race on a tread mill, and expecting the BREdSET elites, the Establishment, the reformers/activists and their followers, or revolutionaries, or Nature/Time itself, to somehow make things better, safer, secure, comfortable for them at all times. But the middle-class person won’t budge an inch from his stance – he/she won’t take a moment to look within, reflect, introspect, digest the big-picture goings-on, and consider if a course-correction is warranted and urgently needed.

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While a typical middle-class family is utterly dependent on the ecosystem and the community, they somehow feel they are not part of the larger ecosystem, the larger community. So, they also feel they have “nothing to do” with the goings-on in the society, and cannot be held responsible for ‘big-picture’ or macro-level problems like climate change, global warming, environmental degradation, widening socioeconomic inequalities, haphazard development, poverty, poor healthcare, crumbling or under-developed infrastructure, institutions becoming corrupt, pandemic mismanagement, vaccine politics, vaccine market-share and price-wars, etc. 

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Unless life comes to a standstill, or is utterly disrupted, or is (or appears to be) on the verge of imminent descent into a hell-like situation, middle-class people simply adopt a “get on with it” or “business as usual” mode.

 

They will also likely accept Big Negative Change timidly or meekly, if such massive disruptions are imposed from the top, or are force majeure events, or tectonic shifts in socioeconomic factors, and hurt everyone else as well. Utter ruin or even death appears acceptable to the middle-class person, if it comes this way, enveloping everyone and everything.

 

But until then, the majority middle-class people would happily live like parasites, feeding off the larger ecosystem, and never seeing the merit in coming together and chipping in their two cents for a collective effort that could prevent society heading in the wrong direction, or persuade the larger community to effect a course-correction. If such a collective effort requires people to cast off their ego and rise above mediocrity, indifference, selfishness, laziness, ignorance, risk-aversion, etc, they tend to avoid it or even resist it.

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This is how they do it.

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A few laughable reasons usually trotted out by 'educated', relatively well-settled middle-class people for NOT being responsible citizens, and for being selfish, self-centred, self-absorbed, narrow-minded and small-minded are as follows:
 

• "I am not interested in society / politics / economy / community / environment / ecology / planet. That is not my cup of tea."
   

• "I am too small a person -- powerless, helpless, to make any difference."
   

• "I have my limitations, compulsions, preoccupations and constraints."
   

• "I am ignorant. I am not an expert on politics, society, community, globalization, etc."
   

Whatever be the excuse or alibi, the effects and consequences of what is going on in the world in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic on the one hand, and the anti-people technology-dystopia juggernaut on the other, would be inescapable for even such people.

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It is not as if 'educated', well-settled middle-class people can adopt a detached, hands-off approach to macro issues or matters concerning community / society, and yet hope to continue to eke out a stable, secure, prosperous life and livelihood.

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From now on, a selfish, self-centred life "detached" from community won't be possible; if such an approach is persisted with, it would prove counter-productive and self-destructive.

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Community, society, the environment, the future of the planet is everyone's business. "Minding one's own business", therefore, should be redefined or updated urgently.

 

For those among the non-elites, particularly the middle-class, relatively well-settled people, who take recourse to lame excuses and alibis, here's a well-meaning wake-up call:

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• If you don't have "interest" in politics, society, environment, globalization, then urgently develop it. Your and your family's future and lives are on the block, and will depend on your developing interest in matters directly concerning your existence. So, chip in with your two cents toward a collective effort for a course-correction toward Big Positive Change. Don't expect others to do your bit. Why should they?
   

• If you think you are too small a person, then grow up, aspire to actualize your full potential, endeavor to become a BIG person.
   

• If you feel you have certain limitations or constraints, then overcome them.
   

• If you believe you are ignorant, then become knowledgeable.

 

Stop trying to perpetuate status quo. Stop trying to continue living in your "comfort zone" bubble / cocoon. Stop taking the easy way out. Stop dishing out excuses and alibis. Stop being evasive, elusive and reclusive. Every little counts. So, chip in with your two cents.

 

It is not difficult to recognize a person exhibiting the typical "middle-class mindset".

 

Such people can be broadly classified into three categories:

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1. Middle-class people with “merit”, who have worked hard and climbed some rungs on the socioeconomic ladder the right way, without becoming corrupt, without selling their soul.
    

2. Middle-class people who have a bit of “merit” but who have combined “hard work” with “smart work” (meaning, sucking up to their bosses, making shrewd or opportunistic moves in life), perhaps becoming partly corrupt, and selling part of their soul, in the name of being practical and pragmatic.
    

3. Middle-class people who have no or little merit but are impostors, parasites, charlatans, or beneficiaries of state policies, largesse, welfare or even of other people’s kindness. This type of people are the worst of the lot – ingrates who have acquired and accumulated what they don’t truly deserve, often at the expense of more meritorious individuals. They turn into greedy and cunning scumbags who would like to consolidate their position further, not by dint of work, effort, contributions, self-improvement, but by use of dark arts, foul means, posturing, bluff, mind-games, betrayal, treachery, guilt-tripping, or “principles” of convenience (‘survival of the fittest’; ‘winner takes all’; ‘life is not fair’; ‘c’est la vie’; ‘there is no justice in this world’; ‘our ancestors were victims in the past, so we are entitled to be perpetrators now’). They don’t realize the net adverse effect this attitude will have on the larger community over the long term, especially when such an attitude is adopted by a very large number of people over a long period of time. They don’t realize either that they and their children will likely pay a very heavy price for their stupidity in their own lifetime.

 

All these three types of middle-class people share a lot of things in common:

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1. They all suffer from dog-eat-dog, frog-pull down-frog mentality (unhealthy competition)
    

2. They are all mediocre, defensive, greedy, insecure, risk-averse, cowardly, non-committal, selfish, self-centred, intellectually lazy, ignorant of and indifferent to the macro factors
    

3. They are short-term-oriented and irresponsible toward their own children’s future, community, the environment and the planet
    

4. They don’t realize the BREdSET elites and the Establishment are not in full control of the crumbling, collapsing old system but are keen to exploit the situation so as to replace the old system with a dystopian and authoritarian system
    

5. They are ignorant that the much-exploited Nature has Its own cruel way of leveling the playing field
    

6. They are not aware that this time round, there won’t be any Mahatmas, Messiahs, reformers, activists and their followers, intellectuals, new leaders to bail out the community / society yet again. That era has long gone.
    

7. They are yet to acknowledge and accept that until and unless they (the middle-class people themselves) see through the BREdSET elites’ and the Establishment’s evil designs and rise above them all to coalesce into a united force capable of co-leadership, coordination, cooperation and collaboration, they will all fall prey to dystopian, totalitarian regimes, or to Nature’s fury, or to violent anarchy, or to all the three possibilities at the same time. 

 

Typically, a middle-class person finds himself/herself in the following roles from time to time:

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| Citizen | Voter | Taxpayer | Employee | Consumer | User of technology / service / app | Audience member (viewer / listener / reader / content-consumer) | Home-maker | Family breadwinner |

 

The middle-class person needs to ask himself/herself:

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• In which role am I, as an individual, really respected, valued, empowered and treated well?
   

• In which role are my most basic rights, dignity and intelligence not insulted, violated or made a mockery of on a day-to-day basis?
   

• In which role am I not exploited, disempowered, tricked, undermined, conned or made totally insignificant and inconsequential due to either my ignorance or my helplessness / powerlessness as an individual?

 

The answers, the truths, are not difficult to find. If you are a middle-class person in the 21st century, the truths will instantly ‘hit’ you the moment you ask those questions of yourself.

 

It is time to realize that inaction, indifference, apathy, conformism, compliance, self-absorbed, selfish, zombie lifestyle, ego, greed … they have long ceased to be the “magic formula” for continuity, status quo, and a safe, secure, comfortable life.

 

Instead, middle-class people must consider alternative possibilities, and proactively explore even a sliver of chance or slim opportunity to save their lives and their children’s future.

 

When an old method is no longer producing the desired results, and instead empowers the enemy while weakening yourself, and also runs the risk of further deteriorating the situation, potentially pushing everyone and everything toward a cliff edge, it is time for an urgent, objective evaluation of your current preferences, the results they produce, and the way ahead.

 

Allow us to reiterate some key points one final time before we go:

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1. The BREdSET elites and the Establishment are not going to improve the existing system. The old system is crumbling and collapsing. Its operators are no longer in control.
    

2. They are instead busy creating an alternative system (totalitarian dystopia of techno-feudals acting in concert with local political regimes) that will be worse for ordinary citizens. If you as a middle-class person continue to overuse the outdated, failed “magic formula”, you will suffer immeasurably from now on. Beware! 
    

3. This time around, no Mahatmas, Messiahs, Avatars, reformers, activists, intellectuals, or new leaders are going to appear suddenly, magically, just to make life better again for you – that is because, your hypocrisy, duplicity, and opportunism have manifested in a wide range of negative energies over the years / decades: selfishness, self-centred living, self-absorbed lifestyle, greed, ego, laziness, fear, risk-aversion, insecurity, ignorance, crass consumerism, indifference, apathy, rat race, disconnect with community / society / environment / macro-issues, all of which have played a big role in bringing the world to a precipice. 
    

4. The trade-offs and collateral damage wreaked by the hyper economic globalization of the past few decades have caused deep socioeconomic fissures in society, leading to build-up of societal pressures that are boiling and ready to explode. The middle-class people will bear the brunt of any possible violent anarchy or revolution by the lower classes, who are often the worst affected among the victims of failed, flawed systems and institutions. 
    

5. That apart, globalization has proved to be utterly destructive of Nature, which has Its own cruel ways of retribution that will likely result in leveling of the playing field indiscriminately, suddenly and lethally.

 

Wake up! Take stock.

 

Realize there have been no discernible benefits of the “magic formula” over the last few years. Objectively assess its utility from now on. You’ll know the truth. And "the Truth will set you free”.

 

Cast off that which will harm you or even result in your “extinction”. Embrace a strategy which will truly benefit you, your children/parents, community, society, and the environment.

 

Quickly reconcile to this: "do the RIGHT thing, no matter what." 

 

Jai Hind!

 

Have a view, comment, observation or feedback to share? Email us: nrinatter@outlook.com

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