It is all over the TV and the internet:
everything will be better if we can just make it one step further;
one more technology, one more chemical,.. one more drug.
I have been through this before.

My grandparents lived through World War One, 
the Great Depression, and World War Two. 
They were humble, worked in factories, 
and yet, still, 
saved a large amount of money.

My Uncle tried to fit in with the times, 
to be the perfect image of modern man,
to live the high life with swagger,
to prove that he was more,..

Like a wolf pack on the hunt, 
the media drove him into the ambush; 
the casinos had his number 
before he even got there. 

They made him feel important, 
just like a picture in a magazine, 
like he had a secret that no one else knew,.. 
like he was better than everyone else.

The trap he was locked into 
was the idea that, maybe, one day, 
if he could play just one more game, 
he would be able to prove it.

It took the family a long time to realize what happened: 
To process the anger and betrayal as the stories unravelled; 
the narrative, that he so carefully… desperately…
wove to hide the truth of his insecurity.

But, it can be hard to see,
our entire culture has fallen into the trap. 
The need to buy one more thing to make things perfect,.. 
To feel better than our parents, friends, and neighbors.

We see it all over the TV, 
the children of millionaires have become billionaires, 
the look in their eyes,.. the hunt is on.
The hunt is always on.
 
The wolves drive them to prove themselves, 
to show the world that it wasn’t just luck, random chance, 
that allowed them to turn their parent’s support 
into an advantage.

If only they could create one more technology, 
one more chemical or drug, 
one more grand project to show the world. 
Like that character in the movie.

The difference is, 
they are not gambling away their money. 
They have too much for that to happen. 
They are gambling away our communities, our environment,.. 
our trust.

We have watched, spurred on by the corporate media, 
and placed all of our hope on the shoulders of these… giants? 
They will solve the problem, we are told. 
Science will solve the problem, we are sold.

The period of anger and betrayal will be brutal, 
as we unravel their narrative; the fabric of stories 
they wove to hide the truth of their insecurity. 
They are just normal people…
after all.

Addictions hurt people and communities. 
We have laws to protect us from the most obvious addictions,.. 
but it is too late to protect ourselves 
from greed.
 
The lesson for all wounded by addiction: 
The future we grew up with is gone. 
Let go and begin building a new one.