=== ANCHOR POEM ===
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 I believe that all people's should be middle class, and if you're lower class
 it's because you squandered your wealth, not that you didn't have it to begin
 with.
 
 I believe people of higher class should get there because they are skilled,
 respected, or otherwise beloved. I believe they should hold less power the
 more they own, because wealth is its own burden and reward.
 
 I believe people who have power should respect it. They aren't necessarily
 those who have little, or much, but rather those who deserve it. It is
 difficult to estimate systematically who deserves wealth or power, but
 difficult problems are the most interesting if kept fair.
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=== SIMILARITY RANKED ===

--- #1 messages/775 ---
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 if people want to be loved for more than their money, they should reject the
 lie that capitalism told them. they deserve their wealth because they are
 willing to serve. that willingness, whether through moral corruption or simply
 industrious drive, that willingness is rewarded, and when the system they
 serve is unkind... what does that tell you about their heart? that they'd
 sacrifice what is good and true for the material? materials are not bad.
 material is all we got, in a physical sense. but capitalism and it's servants
 are cruel and unwilling to concede to the idea that their games of unmatched
 exploitation are depriving the world bit-by-bit of life, liberty, and the
 pursuit of happiness.
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--- #2 fediverse/5660 ---
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 │ CW: violence-alluded-to │                                                      │
 └─────────────────────────┘                                                      │
 my enemy is not "the rich"                                                       │
 money brings power, and power brings evil, but there are many other ways to      │
 gather power that may be just as evil.                                           │
 my enemy is evil. of which there is very little in the world, but much of        │
 which resides in the hands of the powerful, upon whom all our fates depend.      │
 most people with money are either stupid lucky, willful, or intensely focused.   │
 some people with power are rich, and some people with power are evil.            │
 I know it when I see it. Sometimes, you need to force the choice - test their    │
 virtue - and from this you are informed.                                         │
 most things go WAY over my head.                                                 │
 most things are too easy to be true.                                             │
 most things that Id do for you tend to be of the heart. I'm not a frontline      │
 girl, I have weak noodle arms, but I do hope you're in shape.                    │
 resolve, determination, and innovation. That is what I offer. Do you want it?    │
 I'm sure. I won't prove it with blood, not unless I may raise my fists in        │
 defence of another.                                                              │
 I'm not JUST a baby, I'm a banner too.                                           │
 bannermen fall.                                                                  │
bannermen fall last.  negative six characters remaining.
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--- #3 fediverse/2270 ---
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 │ CW: re: uspol        │
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 @user-1203 
 
 The judges prevent the politicians from harming the people who elect the
 politicians who select the judges. Sounds like it should work well, no?
 
 well... the people are divided, but the politicians it seem are hardly so. So,
 the politicians elect their judges, who allow the passage of such laws which
 contradict the will of the people.
 
 The keys to power should rest in the hands of those who deserve it, not those
 who claim it. If those who claim it do not relinquish it for a worthy other,
 they are corrupt and must be dethroned.
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--- #4 fediverse/4470 ---
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 to be "rich" is to have more than another.
 
 if you are happy, they are happiness poor.
 if you have community, they are alone.
 if you have serenity, they are chaotic.
 
 I am rich in very little but fire in my soul.
 
 I have enough in most cases, but I still struggle to pay rent.
 
 I am warmed by the pearl my swirling darkness has coalesced into. It nourishes
 me and keeps me aligned.
 
 Never forget your purpose and your truth. It will not abandon you, so long as
 you do so too.
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--- #5 fediverse/4540 ---
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 most people in the world are dumb as a bag of bricks
 
 but that's okay, I still love them, and so should you.
 
 everyone I hang out with is sharp as a tack
 
 and I love them still, for I don't have a preference for blunt objects.
 
 some people don't feel emotions
 
 I think they're just depressed
 
 some people can't stop
 
 won't stop, I say.
 
 really as long as they follow their heart and sing a tune that is true
 
 I think they're alright.
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--- #6 messages/154 ---
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 There are two types of people with power, but it's impossible to tell which is
 which because anyone that gravitic must necessarily hide their true colors.
 
 The first just wants to hurt people. You cannot reason with them, they want
 power for powers sake and they are corrupted by it.
 
 The other is a kind of benevolent fascist, who doesn't want the nuclear
 football in the hands of the people because obviously they'd hurt themselves
 with it.
 
 The second kind can be reasoned with. Of course people exist on a spectrum,
 but these are two extremes that they may be defined by. The second kind can bs
 reasoned with. If you can show them how, structurally and immutably, the power
 they are to relinquish shall not harm this earth, then they shall grant it to
 you. Because at their core they are a kind grandpa herding cats with laser
 swords attached to their tails who are hopped up on catnip at all times.
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--- #7 messages/774 ---
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 if people want to be loved for more than their money, they should realize that
 capitalism lied to them. it told them they deserve their money, their wealth,
 their power, their material, their extra fragments of life spent on leisure or
 adventure rather than meaningless toil... but that is a lie. all people
 deserve everything, and nothing, because "deserving" things is an untruth.
 
 
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--- #8 fediverse/3153 ---
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 │ CW: re: politics-socialism-mention │
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 @user-1074 
 
 yep... Though I think debate can also get in the way.
 
 I think we should act to improve the people's lives. Debate should teach, it
 should guide, but it should not prevent.
 
 There are more than enough resources for everyone. If you waste them, debate
 can decide when you get more to use.
 
 Much the same way that our Northern American democracy utilizes
 representatives in order to distance the decision making from the decision
 deciding, so too should be separate the empowered people acting for the good
 of all from those who decide who are good.
 
 Power must be earned, it must be deserved, and it must be eventually
 relinquished. That is the sacred duty of those who wield power - to use it
 honorably, and give it away.
 
 we should not debate things that are not mutable. We should not waste time
 complaining about how annoying other people are. who gives a shit if she wears
 a dress.
 
 we should not debate our human rights. Like bodily autonomy. it's her uterus.
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--- #9 fediverse/3848 ---
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 people? oh yeah I know "people". they're all a bunch of bastards.
 
 good, bastards are the best fighters
 
 not if your fight relies on fighting for something you believe in. There's a
 zero percent chance that you'll get everyone to believe the same thing because
 people naturally gravitate toward filling the idea space equally and finding
 niches to fit themselves into
 
 ha true - thinking of successful revolutions of the past, they've always been
 caused by material conditions creating insufficiencies that must be resolved
 through violence. and then, the people fighting can all agree on something
 like "we must have bread" or... actually that's pretty much the main thing
 people need
 
 and yeah, sure, wealth inequality is unjust, but they're careful to only take
 enough to ensure that we're sufficiently placated.
 
 but they're always taking more, and someday soon they'll take too much.
 
 ... I hope, for my sake, that I'm not around when that happens. But I'm not
 too hopeful in that regard
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--- #10 fediverse/4068 ---
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 there will always be people who shine in moments of strife
 
 yet those people will inevitably fail, just as a toothbrush bristle looses
 it's strength or a pencil loses it's lead
 
 the trick is to test them in times of peace, so you can know their value
 
 during times that lack it, the trick is to replace them before they become
 stalin
 
 never forget that power corrupts, yet power must be wielded by the worthy,
 else we fall into shame and despair.
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--- #11 fediverse/2118 ---
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 listen, judges are useful character moralities, but they don't have to be the
 only ones to decide things.
 
 I mean, if they disagree, then let the one who cares the most about it have
 the decision-making power.
 
 if you do this equally for everything, then everyone will get what they want.
 
 so, like, if you care about something, then believe in it.
 
 if it's truly good, then more people will come to it, and it'll naturally
 extinguish (with care and love) the least favored approach, which... honestly
 now that I think of it is not such a good approach either.
 
 the reason I say that is because it's good to be multi-faceted, and to have
 general flows and rough surfaces.
 
 These are places people can hold onto you, the times when you're trying your
 mostest.
 
 y'know, your tough patches. the things that are difficult in your life.
 
 the stuff you're working on can push you forward,
 
 if you only had someone to play catch with.
 
 or like, send letters to.
 
 or shared encryption keys.
 
 I don't know anyone. Well, maybe o
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--- #12 messages/298 ---
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 When you say "we need more low income housing" they hear "I want to live near
 more poor people" and they think "why would I want to live near poor people?
 They're poor for a reason! We only need enough around to work the jobs that
 suck anyway." which is basically their way of justifying slavery/indentured
 servitude, as it's not like they'd ever offer a way to climb out of that
 low-income pit. And its not like they'd ever let you pay them more, so they
 can afford to be equals, because then they wouldn't be middle-class anymore.
 They'd just be mid.
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--- #13 messages/408 ---
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 If our government was of the people, by the people, and for the people, then
 it would aim to make all of its citizens as rich as it could. A good place to
 start would be by encouraging deflation, so people could buy more high quality
 goods on the international markets, and by regulating the power that select
 few individuals may use to extract wealth and labor from the "lesser" citizens.
 
 I don't know about you but I believe that all men are created equal, and it is
 unconscionable that some may bend others to their will.
 
 Liberty, liberty, freedom for me but not for thee, for I am a despot you see,
 of my own little fiefdom, this palace of renown - I built my playground from
 the blood and bones of your kin, and I stand here on the high ground. Come at
 me! See what my army of drones can do. I built them overseas, with an army of
 slaves that I'm not accountable for. Come at me! See who the police of this
 nation will protect. I paid for them, after all, with my endless coffers and
 vaults of inherited wealth. Come at me! See who will believe ye, the media is
 at my beck and call. Propaganda works on everyone, and everything you see on
 your phone or TV was written for me. So take care, little one, lest I kill you
 with a thought. Less than a thought, for you are just a number to me.
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--- #14 fediverse/5205 ---
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 ┌──────────────────────────┐                                                     │
 │ CW: capitalism-mentioned │                                                     │
 └──────────────────────────┘                                                     │
 whenever I talk to capitalists (who actually have money and aren't larping       │
 wage slaves) they always tell me that the best way to address the concerns I     │
 have with capitalism is to make a million or more dollars by making a company,   │
 and then using that million dollars to buy houses for people I care about.       │
 I ask "what about the rest of the people, the ones I don't know?"                │
 their response typically boils down to "if you don't know them, then why         │
 should you care? fuck 'em"                                                       │
 It's never about hope or change. They want to change the world to make it        │
 cooler, not kinder. generally.                                                   │
 bonus: "if you like unions so much, why don't you join one?" my guy, unions      │
 WERE great when they wielded power. Now they are bureaucratic and listless,      │
 serving only to sedate the working class enough that they stop complaining and   │
 get back to work. They are functionally a part of the enslavement system, a      │
 built-in course correction mechanism to ensure capitalism remains solvent when   │
 the powerful overstep their humanity.                                            │
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--- #15 fediverse/2374 ---
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 │ CW: pol              │
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 Ideology is not important right now.
 
 As long as we believe that people should live as they define, that their
 rights end where another's begin, that all people are created equal, that an
 application of power to a non-consenting subject is evil, and that we will win
 
 then nothing else matters. We will figure out the specifics later. They are
 just logistics. We are united in our shared dream of health and prosperity for
 all mankind. What else could there be?
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--- #16 fediverse/3884 ---
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 │ CW: children-mentioned │
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 children should be raised in museums, not classrooms
 
 they should visit parks, not fenced in playgrounds.
 
 they should eat with family, at festivals, in restaurants, and under the stars
 
 they should sleep content, knowing that their next day will be greater than
 the last.
 
 children should be treated like people, not frustratingly loud and messy
 little brats
 
 children are to be nurtured like a sapling, not harnessed like a machine
 
 I'll never have kids, but I can dream.
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--- #17 fediverse/2562 ---
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 among all the others, I want a wonderful and fulfilling life for the
 socialite. they deserve light just as you and I might.
 
 "eat the rich" bruh there's like, 100 people who are running the show.
 everyone else is basically just a syncophant who's trying to get ahead and
 stay working.
 
 then there's like their families and such and like... they didn't do anything
 wrong, they just eat cheese and wine and laugh at memes all day with their
 besties.
 
 they are basically pets
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--- #18 fediverse/5339 ---
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 @user-1803 
 
 hey I dont disagree that what you're describing is a common outcome, but if it
 works for them then I consider that a success.
 
 I however, am different, I do believe in my heart that I am my own thing, and
 thats as close to enlightenment as I can imagine.
 
 are we not all making things up as we go? every moment of life is new, there
 is nothing that is not unique about every precious moment you experience.
 
 therefore, I do believe that rigid adherence to orthodoxy (like a bible) is
 opposed to our purpose here.
 
 "I think, therefore I am" implies that original thought is our true purpose.
 
 I believe we are here to express our true nature. To learn and apply lessons,
 to teach the young, and to build a strong and stable world built on collective
 kindness and trust.
 
 All knowledge is derived from the insights gained from standing on the
 shoulders of our ancestors.
 
 Humans crave novelty. Resisting that isn't virtuous. If god is made in our
 image, then I do believe that god would crave novelty as well.
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--- #19 fediverse/4113 ---
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 I don't know how much simpler I can state it than this:
 
 power is penance
 
 and yet repentance is scant amongst those chosen to lead us.
 
 Voting slows things down. It gives us room to breathe. It is crucial for
 long-term operations. Leaders should be chosen for experience, wisdom, and a
 humble lifetime of dedicated service to others.
 
 Executive action is important when reactivity and adaptability are important.
 Projects should be undertaken by those chosen for merit and spirit. They
 should not be chosen for charisma or gravitas - both can be earned in the line
 of duty.
 
 Power should not be rewarded. It is it's own reward, the feeling of strength
 and control, and it must be wielded with care, precision, and honorable
 intention.
 
 Self flagellation and forced humility are self defeating. They are traps that
 the greedy fall into when seeking righteous power. They misunderstand the
 nature of virtue and seek to claim it for themselves, failing to realize that
 virtue helps more than it hedonizes
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--- #20 fediverse/6093 ---
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 it's not always about minorities, though. sometimes they feel strongly about
 hard work and self-sufficiency or individuality or whatever. I'm telling you
 now: those values are shared by other ideologies as well.
 
 it's okay to prefer to be around people who are similar to you. That is a
 personal choice and it should be allowed. I mean, have you ever heard of a
 convent? a bunch of girls hanging out making out all day and - wait, what's
 that? it wasn't that fun? lotta clerical work and reading about god? alright
 well you get the idea, sometimes it's nice to feel comfort in similarity.
 
 it's okay to believe that people should work hard. It's not an imposition upon
 them to demand more of your peers, especially if you are willing to help them.
 Especially if they are willing and able. It's less alright to force them to.
 Even less so to "encourage" them by taking all of their stuff. Though I will
 say, being homeless isn't as bad as it used to be. Still hurts.
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