Ten Rules in the Game of Life

Life is a game, and like all good games, it has rules. Upon observation and reflection, I have come up with the rules in the game of life as I see them today.

Rule 1: Capitalism and the acquisition of wealth are the most important aspects of life. All other rules must first comply with this rule. The Golden Rule which states, “He who has the gold gets to make the rules,” gets its validity here. To borrow a term from the science fiction series Star Trek, it is the “prime directive.” Greed is good. If there are any conflicts that arise from the interpretation of any other rules, see Rule 1.

Rule 2: An advanced education is the birthright of all wealthy individuals and access to that education shall be controlled by its cost and a patriarchal admissions process. The education of less important classes of individuals will be provided as necessary to ensure that the wealthy have the benefits of advancements in technology and medicine. There will be sufficient education in the trades and other occupations to meet the needs of the wealthy. There should be enough people forced through circumstances to remain under-educated to fulfill agricultural, factory, mining, and similar labor-intensive jobs that ultimately benefit the wealthy.

Rule 3: Religion will be promoted through interpretation in a manner that advances the goals of Rule 1. Religion will be a means of hiding the objectives of wealth acquisition to make those activities justifiable. Under the cloak of religion, all manner of things will be possible, not the least of which will be control and placation of the workers. Opium des Volkes is a dictum paraphrased from the writings of Karl Marx, the German sociologist and political economist who stated, “Religion is the opium of the people.”

Rule 4: Democracy will be an illusion where the outcome of all elections will be in satisfaction of Rule 1. Through gerrymandering, voter suppression, media control, political prosecution, court appointments, and manipulation of the overall voting process, election outcomes will be predetermined. Authoritarian rule will be disguised as being the will of the people, but its true purpose will be to advance totalitarianism.

Rule 5: Taxes will be collected disproportionately from the lower classes. The wealthy will pay few or no taxes while the tax burden will be borne by those who cannot afford the legal expertise to decipher the tax code to their benefit. Regressive taxes will be used wherever possible, and loopholes will be provided to allow the wealthy to advance their station in life. With the proper implementation of this rule, the rich get richer and the poor stay poor.

Rule 6: Laws will be enforced on all but the wealthy. The illusion that everyone is equal under the law will be maintained so that, even though the wealthy may suffer the indignation of prosecution for law violations, they will have an unbalanced set of protections that will result in very few convictions. By that measure, a person found guilty of the theft of one hundred dollars may be jailed and his future employment prospects crushed, and a person found guilty of the theft of millions of dollars can get probation, pay a small fine, and have his record of conviction erased.

Rule 7: Climate change, environmental conservation, and similar issues that will probably not affect you during your lifetime are of little importance. Your ability to make any significant impact is probably minimal and will violate the principles of Rule 1. You need to kick that can down the road and let future generations spend their time and money worrying about such problems.

Rule 8: Medical decisions made by medical professionals are of less importance than medical decisions made by politicians. Politicians are always in a better position to candidly weigh the financial consequences of medical decisions. If outlawing a medical procedure, especially one for the poor, can save money in Medicare, Medicaid, or insurance coverage, it is usually a good thing. If you can hide this motivation under the guise of religious conviction, you get a twofer. You save money for the wealthy and you get the religious right to back you in the election process. Using abortion as an example, the procedure is still available to those who can afford to travel but is no longer available to those with inadequate financial means. A real win-win.

Rule 9: Upward mobility will be provided as motivation for the lower classes to keep them slogging through life and providing services. This ability to move above their current station will have lottery-winning-like odds. In fact, one of those mobility avenues will be the lottery. A select few might also hit the upward mobility lottery through professional sports or entertainment careers. Most will not know how to manage their new-found wealth and they will be easy suckers for crafty entrepreneurs.

Rule 10: Hate and anger are strong motivators and keep the proletariat too busy to realize that they are being exploited. Racism, faux nationalism, patriotic fervor, xenophobia, homophobia, and religious discrimination are excellent distractors. Creating us versus them scenarios will allow them to feel that they are part of something much larger. As any good magician will tell you, if they are looking at the exciting flash, they will miss what’s going on in the shadows.

In conclusion, if you find that the life rules above align with your motives and objectives, then you should continue to vote for the political party that espouses these same ideals. If, however, you find these rules to be cynical and lacking in common decency, you should do your homework and be highly selective in your political choices while you still can make such a choice. Otherwise, it won’t be long before you find that the plight of the Russian, Venezuelan, Cuban, North Korean, and Syrian peoples will be your own.