Okay, apologies for the length, but bear with me on this. It's time for the masses to receive some truthful perspective instead of just the usual sponsored fear and hopelessness.

Minimum wage is, quite literally, a starvation wage. Nobody can argue that pay has remotely kept up with inflation, with our buying power noticeably dropping for years as cost of living keeps rising. Most Americans cannot afford a single unexpected $400 bill or emergency, yet are already routinely forced to ignore health concerns, not build savings, and skip planning for the future in any way just to make the present "work." We are increasingly living in a sort of luxurious desperation; convenient yet essential modern technologies like internet access and cellphones disguise the very real, looming daily threats of bankruptcy and homelessness.

What's often overlooked is that this situation is entirely man-made, totally unnecessary, and easily resolvable. However, those responsible for creating, upholding, and defending this unsustainable status quo frankly are removed from humanitarian and ethical realities. On all levels- from the billionaire CEO's, millionaire politicians, to all their lobbyist, lawyer, and management lackeys in between- the motivation has become one purely of profit. We have sacrificed common sense, morality, and human rights to facilitate business's insatiable bottom line. The 'shared prosperity' trickle-down notion revived through Reaganomics successfully sold our country into corporate feudalism.

The mindset of making all aspects of our lives into just another business opportunity, and callously running them as such, has completely infected our government like a cancer. Populace-supported ideas are simply not implemented when they are considered unprofitable. Unjust, unpopular laws that put corporations before people are pushed through via special interest pressure, financial campaign leverage, and even blatantly obvious political favor kickbacks. Our 'representatives' are frankly becoming less and less like typical citizens, and more and more a typical mob boss hierarchy- unliked, untrusted, and facilitating their superior thug's agendas of greed at our expense.

What this means is that, in very real, tangible, documented and provable ways, We The People currently have no valid representation any more. We are the modern-day digital serfs, exploited through normalized wage slavery, entertained into apathetic ignorance. Our interests are no longer being protected or even taken seriously, as we have transitioned from being viewed as fellow human beings and countrymen to merely a classist commodity. And when treated as just another natural resource to use up, not a people to invest in, of course there's cheaper options to be found overseas. Thus even our ability to support ourselves is increasingly robbed while legally legitimized for sake of profit.

Make no mistake, this isn't about the "haves" vs the "have nots", wanting better toys, or merely wishing life were unrealistically easier. This is about an unjust system of control and perceived societal "progress" that fundamentally goes against the well-being and quality of life for the majority of Americans. This is about the death of democracy, and the escalation of unchecked capitalism into an oligarchic post-consumerist second great depression. Continued mainstream deceit and denial about this has advanced "our" country into becoming an increasingly violent, paranoid police state with massive incarceration, debt, and constant war overseas to justify morally repugnant for-profit arms dealings.

Where does this leave us, the average Americans? Well, if we continue to listen to and believe those destroying our nation's legacy and future, we have no options. According to them, taking whatever we are given and being silently grateful for it like little Oliver is our true childlike place. Thus genuine patriotic pride has turned into cultist nationalism, where the indoctrinated and ignorant persecute those who cannot continue blindly supporting this institutionalized corruption and systemic cruelty. Voting itself has been proven a charade; even when counted, we're now only allowed false choices, where we consistently incrementally lose while retaining the superficial appearance of democratic control.

But the people of America are what make up this country, not merely the few rich and their gluttonous corporate machines. If our legacy and laws still mean anything, then this is a clear cut case of America having its rule and representation stolen by a hostile domestic regime set on their goals over our own. When Nixon put his own principles over those of the country, he was impeached. When a consortium of the elite do the same by hiding behind two-party puppet-theater distractions, how is it any different? With the scope, scale, and resulting destruction that continues to wreak havoc and loss of life both here and abroad, how can it not be immediately halted? Now take a quick read of this single statute:

"Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States." (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 807; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(2)(J), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2148.)

In accordance with this one law, and in recognition of the above facts, it is arguably quite legal and justified to charge those citizens who blatantly promote capitalism over humanity as being guilty of treason to the United States. This includes every current public official who is not already publicly outspoken on these issues; both current 'major' party candidates, for a multitude of painfully obvious reasons; and especially our current sitting president, for both his role in both facilitating these grave injustices, and for continually attempting to mislead the public about them. Legitimate businesses will still thrive with or without a conscience; the voiceless, powerless American individual cannot.

So with all due respect, it sounds to me like being a responsible patriotic citizen means it's high time for widespread activism, if not mass citizen's arrests. Who's up for cleaning house and finally enacting real change, instead of just buying more false hope?