People "Knew Their Place"

Under the feudal system, lords - nobles and royals - granted land (fiefs) to vassals - knights and gentry - in exchange for military service and loyalty. Serfs and peasants worked the land and were bound to it. This formed the backbone of the feudal system. Inter-regional communication was slow due to a limited infrastructure, and the rise of chivalry and courtly love influenced social norms.

As a primarily agrarian society, the "manor" system governed rural life with lords overseeing their estates and peasants working the fields. Most people lived in villages, so larger towns were rare. Power structures were reinforced by personal relationships with loyalty, kinship, and oaths of fealty binding the vassals to their lords. Social status was usually determined by birth, and mobility between classes was heavily limited.

"I believe in what I see, I believe in what I hear. I believe that what I'm feeling changes how the world appears."

Fast forward to the present day when many of us fall into one of the three social "working" classes (lower, middle, upper), but depending on our personal talents and ambitions, we have the mobility to move from one social class to another.

So, if the wealth (or lack of it) is no longer a valid gauge of social hierarchy, what else can we use? Because everybody can't really have "equality in wealth"; that's socialism.

"Angels and demons dancing in my head. Lunatics and monsters underneath my bed."

"Well," they might say, "there's always gender."

Gender bias has been around since long before the founding of our great nation and, given the prevalence of modern gender bias issues, it looks like very little has changed in that regard. So much for our claims of having a "more civilized" society.

Gender Bias [Article Link]

"Media messiahs preying on my fears. Pop culture prophets playing in my ears."

"Well then," they might hesitatingly suggest, "there's something more obvious, like race, ethnicity, or nationality."

Fear is a great motivator; probably one of the best motivators. If you think about it, there is some truth to the philosophical axiom that people will do more to avoid something that they fear than they will to acquire something that they love. Except that, in the American Melting Pot, we can all still be Americans while retaining the values and customs of our former countries.

[Article Link] Combatting Racism

"Enough!", they cry, "I just don't like anybody who thinks differently than I do!"

"Welcome to your echo chamber. Please stand by while we find someone who is as equally narrow-minded and intransigent as you are so that they can tell you what you need to be offended by."

[Article Link] The Illusion of Choice

[Article Link] Platform: Autism Advocacy

[Article Link] Platform: The Unsheltered

[Article Link] Platform: LGBTQ+ Issues