The unidentifiable beauty of growing grapes.

So, why are bad people so successful in convincing the masses that they’re right and why do good people have so much trouble to get followers in their quest for equality and freedom? It’s a question that comes up every time I see compassion and respect for this world and its inhabitants crumbling down. Slowly, but bit by bit, this supposed to be heaven is turning in to a hell for a lot of people and the other living creatures they share this planet with. Civilizations came and died in the brief history of mankind but only in the last century, it affected the livability of this earth. Over and over again the “good” people won the battles in the end, then turning into the “bad” people themselves after a taste of power and being in control.

Now, I thought maybe this new digital world could make a difference, it seems it does a little, but not for the better. There’s always been a certain elite in the world that was able to stay out the lines of fire. It used to be the smart ones, the ones with carefully thought out strategies and tactics, inventing religions and rituals, dividing the world into tribes and even somewhat civilized societies. Then the cruel ones had a go with blunt force, ruling by killing all that was in their way, forming big armies and conquering nations by just the large number of forces available. They were beaten by technology, gunpowder, guns, canons and the first manipulators who understood the art of mass indoctrination and keeping out of the lines of fire themselves. They realized that the more means of trade, nowadays called money, they had, the more influence on the outcome of history they would have. It didn’t take them long to realize that they shouldn’t fight against each other but only against those that were a threat to their lifestyle and power. A worldwide elite was born.

Personally, I don’t have contact with anybody being considered to be a part of that elite, nor does my neighbour, neither do the ones that give their lives in the battle they fight to obtain the power of that small elite group. With almost anything we buy, every comment we make on social media, every effort we make to get higher on that career ladder, every political vote and disease we’re curing of is a contribution to the wealth and power of those at that sharp edge on top of the pyramid. Are we of any importance? Yes, we are, we are the tools they use. So are we to blame? Yes, a big part of us are. In the old days, only 1.6 percent of the people in the south of a country they declared to be named America, land of white immigrants, were slave owners, still, they convinced whole states to go to war to protect their interests and wealth. In the end, the “good” side won, but as we all know it didn’t affect the elite, even more, their power just kept on growing. The second World War made clear that being an enemy doesn’t affect business relationships. Anybody driving a Ford should invest some time in reading about how deals were done in those dark days of history.

The fact though is that social media wasn’t invented, still, the elite found ways to convince the people on who the enemy was, what patriotic behaviour should look like and made clear to politicians on what decisions they had to make. Already they owned the newspapers and in the years after gaining control of all technologies that came to life. The social media like Facebook, Twitter and all these others are owned by the same people that are responsible for all the dreadful events we all are commenting on. With every touch our finger makes on that screen, every comment we make, every blog we write or any video we share, they are making money. It’s a shrewd system that flourishes no matter the input we as a people give.

The world seems far away on this lonesome hill in central Portugal, but even here in this tiny village, where there’s only a small dusty road connecting us to civilization and no African or Muslim ever set foot on the square that hosts the yearly Festa this weekend, some are convinced that all problems they’re facing are to blame on people that never met, never spoken to. Somebody said so on TV, it was published in a newspaper so it is true. It’s a sad thing to see that even in the middle of nowhere, the influence of the elite is scarily noticeable. The unidentifiable beauty in all this that my neighbour has other worries, real ones, how will the grapes do this year…..

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