Out of Opt.

It might sound strange to you, it did to me, but 399 years ago, in the part of Europe we today think of as Germany there was a war--a bloody and mean one (not that there are other types of wars)--over freedom.

Freedom.

Remember it?

I am no expert on this period. And my understanding of the schism between Martin Luther and the Pope is limited. I'm a Jew. Let the goyim do what the goyim do. Is that wafer Christ or a representation? The discussion is cause for war, yes?

Martin Luther rebelled against the Church.

He rebelled against the idea that the church dominated all of life. And that the word of god could be received by the masses only through priestly intermediaries. 

He rebelled against the idea that peasants (that's you and me) were bound to both the church and the noble class.

The priestly caste and the nobles (and they were by all definitions castes) owned most of the land, and concomitantly most of the lives of most of the people. What's more, those priests, those nobles, and their hierarchy, sold "get out of hell free" cards--indulgences. Yet another way these castes could enrich itself. 

That's my point.

It sounds like today.

Really.

Pay us or burn in hell.

Let me explain. And analogy-ize. 

Please bear with me.

If you were a peasant in most of Europe in the 16th Century, you were owned. You were either a de facto or de jure serf.

What's more, there were so many laws, rules, precepts and strictures that virtually every move you made was monitored and taxed by either the church or the estate you belonged to.

Want to fish: Tax.
Want to marry: Tax.
Want to die: Tax.
Want to travel to another town: Tax.
Want to farm: Tax.
Want to hunt: Tax.
Want to pray: Tax.
Want to breathe: Tax.

In the parlance of New York, "Dey gotcha comin' and goin'." You were owned.

As I'm reading the book above, I've struck by the similarities between 1526 Germany and 2025 America. 

The difference being there's no one left in America who realizes what's going on or who protests against it. 

The ownership of our every protoplasmic pixel is complete. Every simple process demands that you turn over your data. From seeing a website, to ordering take-out, to buying a train ticket to going to the doctor.

Your every movement is monitored and owned--by the modern-day version of the Church and the nobility. A relentlessly authoritarian government, or even more relentlessly authoritarian corporations. Just to get paid for freelancing at an ad agency, you have to submit a petaflop of data. 

Then wait 120 days.

At the doctor's office on Thursday, a kiosk demanded I sign three separate consent forms--each over 1000 words long, before the receptionist would acknowledge that I arrived in the office for my appointment. This is after I've received about 27 "My Chart" texts asking me for the same information the kiosk demanded. People no longer say good-morning. They say, "date of birth."

Like 16th Century Germany, in 21st Century Amerika, every point of contact is a point of control. And every interaction demands an act of submission.

Like the churchmen and the nobles almost half a millennia ago believed they had dominion over hunting lands, rivers, lakes and human lives, the government and corporatist state is reasserting dominion over our world today. They have the right to sully our air, our water, destroy our planet and track us relentlessly. They have dominion. The right to control us.

All this serves no purpose other than to remind us that we are under the thumb, under the control of the powerful entities that rule our lives. They have dominion. You are dominateable.

You can't opt out.

We're out of opt.