by the Anarchist

My name is Society. I am confused. Some people say that I am stupid or that I have a learning disability. I can learn though. I am just slow. There are many things that I can do. I am always busy.

I have a friend. At least he says that he is my friend. He is the one who always holds the gun pointed at my head. His name is Government. For as long as I have been alive there has been Government pointing the gun at my head. I have only recently begun to wonder about this.

Government says that I am supposed to tell him what to do. But he never really does anything except hold the gun. Usually, he tells me what to do and tries to make me think it is really what I want to do. He tries to trick me into believing that I make the rules when really he does. He holds the gun. Sometimes, if I really dislike his rules, I can get rid of him. But then someone else just takes the gun from his hand and holds it steady against my head. The new ones are always named Government too.

Government teaches me how to work. He knows what work is best for me to do. So I do it. I get paid a lot of money and Government takes some of it for himself. Sometimes he buys me things. Once in a while they are nice things. But mostly they are things that I really do not want. He tries to make me believe that I do want them, but I am not being fooled so much anymore. I am getting smarter.

There was a time when I didn't even know that Government was holding the gun. He always stayed just out of sight. That was long ago. Then there was a time when I could not choose who would hold the gun. Many times I became very tired of the same dumb rules, and I could do nothing about it. I think that that was a long time ago too. Once there was a Government who told me that all the money that I worked for really belonged to him. He was very persuasive. I nearly believed him. He held the gun.

But now I am just scared. I did not think much about the gun pointing at my head before. But now it makes me nervous. I do not sleep well at night. I never used to think about Government pulling the trigger. But now I do. Why does he hold the gun to my head? Why is he afraid of me? I hope he does not get nervous like me. I am beginning to appreciate my life. Sometimes I even feel happy. I wonder if Government ever feels happy. I guess not, though, because if he did he would probably put the gun down then.

I think that it is almost time for me to choose a new Government, but I do not know who to choose. I do not think that it really matters. But do you want to hear a secret? Okay, I will tell you. Lately I have been thinking that I could be happier without my friend. I think that if he put the gun down that I could do all the things that I really want to do. I have hinted about this idea to him, but he says that I am already free to do anything that I want. I know that he is lying. I think that he lies a lot. Maybe he does not know that he is lying. But that is no excuse.

I have thought a lot about telling him about my ideas. About putting the gun down. But I am afraid. What if he decides to blow my brains out? Do you think he will? I do not know what to do. Maybe in time I will get even smarter. Then I will know. For now I must keep him from blowing my brains out.