retort. I’ve finally come to realize that the best method in which to strike up a conversation with most folks, these days, is to give them an insincere smile, say "Hey", and just continue to walk on by. This seems to be the preferred method. But the best way to have an in depth conversation, I’ve learned, is to comment on any of the ongoing soap opera antics, and/or, short comings of a third party. Voila! The conversation will be bristling with newfound vigor. The unbridled spin of speculation will be off to the races and you’ll be challenged to find a suitable point in which to make your exit, or else you’ll find yourself being sucked into the realm of Automatonica.

Disagree with whomever you are listening to and you can be assured of top billing in the ensuing and assorted in depth conversations sure to take place in your absence. Welcome to Automatonica. The land of agree and home of the current rave. Where sincerity is replaced by pseudo nicety, truth by rhetoric and hyperbole, and your undying devotion to conform to the mentality of quasi-social norms is not only expected, but also required. Anything less, and ‘Outcast’ be thy name.

Individuality is now acceptable only by the differences of outward appearance; in fact, it is now expected by way of political correctness. Which, by and of itself, is not a bad idea. But stray too far from the currently instilled mind set of pervasive Automatonican patriotism, current fads and the new Automatonica mind set of thought, by actually becoming informed with facts, and you’ll be labeled as a conspiracy nut, just plain crazy, an unpatriotic ingrate or even a terrorist sympathizer.

For those who lived through the Vietnam War and Watergate era, some of the similarities are quite eerie to say the least. Perhaps time does travel in loops instead of a straight line. Unfortunately, freedom of thought and speech are once again considered to be a danger to society. The dissemination of facts on alternative web sites, as opposed to mainstream media sources, is actually a double-edged sword. On one edge, finding curious facts and circumstances pertaining to the reasons as to how our world has made its way to the predicament we find ourselves in, can enlighten and give us hope that the truth may be able to be heard, and subsequently, alter the dark direction in which we seem to be headed. But the other edge of the sword is that, only, those who are seeking that information will find it. The others who are too comfortable with the status quo, those who are too complacent and the rest who are more than willing to believe the officially sanctioned Automatonican view without question, will unfortunately follow the lead of those who use illusion in order to further their shadowy agenda. And not to forget, there are those that fear rocking the Automatonica boat of conformity may attract the attention of Big Brother’s eye.

The freedom to agree is safe, the freedom to disagree may just buy you a one way, and all expenses paid ticket to ‘enemy combatant’ land. Essentially, we are given two choices; fear disagreeing with the current Automatonica view or fear the ‘terrorists’. Some choice, eh? The classic manipulation ploy of despots has always been the use of instilling ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ fear tactics. When people allow themselves to be putty in the hands of their leaders, by not thinking for themselves, they allow future events to be molded into the shape of those who assuredly only have their own best interests in mind. So, welcome to Automatonica. Today the nation, tomorrow the world. Oh, by the way, "Have a nice day".

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