As George Carlin said, "It's Big club and you aint in it!"

So agreed on corporations and monopolies. Truthfully, it would be easier to say that we live in a Corportacrocy with a healthy dose of monopoly tossed in.

We have this hardware store, not far away, and it is probably the ONLY family owned one around for 100 miles. A few were struggling to compete, ten years ago, but have since closed their doors. We have no family owned hardware stores, gas stations (that was all we had when I was growing up) nor department stores, automotive and tire centers, restaurants, grocery stores, hair cutting places, Gas & go stores, hospitals, nursing homes, etc. Even dental practices are going corporate with huge centers that get you in and out.

What used to be family owned and operated has been taken over by corporate boards and monopolies. Everywhere you turn it's Olive Garden, Home Depot-Lowes or Menards, Jiffy Lube, Subway, Starbucks, Walgreens, Dollar General-or Family Dollar stores, Great Clips-Supercuts-Fantastic Sams, Walmart super-centers, Target, Sams Club, Costco, Amazon, Bed, bath and beyond or Pottery Barn, Applebees, Lens Crafters or Pearle Vision centers, and on and on it goes. All putting the middle man out of a job. If he wants stay in his field, he must buy a license and pay a franchise fee forever! Slavery all over again.

Then you have the clothing brand name lines or the shoe lines .. Most of which are not owned by the celebrity endorsing the product but a corporation who pays the actor to sell it. Or certain food names.. From top to bottom they gouge at your paycheck.

I've said enough lol..

Lynda

PS My Mother gave me a Rumi diary when I was growing up. It had quotes of his every few pages. Its still a favorite of mine.

: I couldn't believe how no one in the university I attended was
: at all concerned about monopolization, which I could see

: happening everywhere. It took me quite a few more years to
: realize that that was because almost all of them were
: private club members. I was tested with stories that were
: supposed to make me laugh at others, or take advantage of
: them ... was even invited to a few semi-private clubs, like
: neurolinguistic programming, or what was perhaps a
: forerunner of NXIVUM(sp?) called the Women's Group by a
: friend in BC. I joined a Gurdjieef group for a while,
: hoping to find some who could think and act from their own
: conscience, but the key "truth-seeker" members
: were two-faced "double" private club members.
: Very disappointing what a game it all is in Matrixland. To
: quote Rumi, "Lovers of God have no religion but God
: alone." And that's the way it's been for me. :-)

: Sonar