How to Stick it to The Man for Kids and Young Adults

I am working on a series of short manuals that I hope to publish on Amazon in E-format. I have been working on them on and off for weeks, but now, after what occured this morning at 130, I feel like I must pick up the pace. So, in order to do that, I thought I would post an excerpt from the first manual here, to give you a taste of the purpose and direction this will go.

This is but a small portion of the first manual. I am hoping to publish next week. Let me know what you think if you have the time and the inclination.

      ​I wish I could write you a fairy tale. I wish I could write you a story full of metaphor, with rich, interesting and tragically flawed characters from strange and wonderful lands which you could enter through your mind’s eye. I would do all this for you and more, if time were not short. But, this is where we have brought ourselves, to this edge of time and everything, and I fear we are all depending upon you.
I am sorry. I am sorry that so much has come to rest upon your shoulders, but unfortunately, for decades now, we adults have been botching up the works, taking our eye off the one vital ball while watching the ridiculous and meaningless occur on the sidelines. 
That is why I am writing this for you, because, as many generations of adults have done for far too long, we have put too much value on the wrong things, dear young people, so that you must now save this world. Well, that is overstating it. Actually, adults have always left it to young people to make the world a “better place” without much of a road map as to how to get there. So I have decided to draw one out for you, in words and pictures. 

A Little History.

It starts in school, I think. You are taught math, science, sociology, art and music if you are lucky, and of course history. In history you learn of brave and brilliant people who did heroic or not so heroic things that moved the narrative of humanity forward. You are expected to memorize dates, places, and cultural significance so you can accurately spit it out in the same cadence and order in which it was taught you.

Those are the things you are taught. But what do you learn?

You learn to raise your hand. You learn to behave. You learn to be organized, to "fit in". You learn how to be controllable. You learn how to behave. You learn that you must jump through hoops. You learn all the skills you need to be a good factory worker. The trouble is, all of the factories are in China now. Or other under developed countries. So, regurgetation isn't something that really pays all that well. 

Taking yet another step back, to consider what has propelled humanity forward, which is often revolt, or breaking with tradition, or being non-conformist, in a very controlled and oppressive setting like a classroom, is backwards. Sitting in a room, waiting your turn to speak your mind, getting points taken off for analytical thinking, being told your whole young life that good grades are the key to your success, well, it is setting you up to NOT be like any of those amazing people in the history books, because most of them broke with tradition in one way or another to do great things. In a certain way, this setting does give you something to rebel AGAINST, but it does not help the great majority of the population really explore and live up to their potential.

So we come to this point in our history where we are all very good at jumping through hoops. We are taught that in order to be okay, you must fit in, and if you do not fit in, you are wrong. So it starts in grade school, and it just gets worse from there.

What To Notice.

You have some background. I am not going to tell you to level a full-scale revolt in chapter one. No. That would be an outlandish request. What I am going to do is ask you to be aware. Look at how you are asked to spend your day. What you are required to do in order to "succeed." What, in your opinion, must you do in order to be rewarded? Most importantly, how are you taught to interact with your classmates? Are you set up to compete against them, or work with them? Are you taught to believe that the biggest, best looking, or strongest is "the best"? Just notice. And then think about if what you are being asked to do is really what is best for you, or, if it is best to maintain some type of control over you. Just notice. For now.

What comes Next.

In the following chapters, you will learn about how, very briefly, the world evolved by reading about:

• Popular Culture and The Media
• Military Action
• Food Production
• Education
• Health 
• Social Justice
• Governments across the world
• The Arts

Each section will be organized in this manner: what has been, what is, and what could be. What could be will be further divided into two segments: what will be if we keep going down this path, and what will be if there is a revolt of epic proportions.

These manuals will be short, roughly ten pages each, and full of sources for you to link to if you need more information. It is my hope that you will go to every place possible to find the source of the mess in which we now find ourselves.

That, my dear young heart, is it. This is the first manual in a series of many which will guide you toward a brighter future full of questioning authority, rebellion in one form or another, and yes, in the end, sticking it to the man. 

Because following the rules doesn't work if the ones making them use them to keep you down.

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This is only about a tenth of what is in the manual presently. I just wanted to give you a feel for what is coming.
So...as usual...share this. AND, let me know what you think. Feedback is necessary if we are to start a proper rebellion to bring down The Man.