Hungry Man Is Not A Free Man - Adlai Stevenson

Once I was made aware of the presence of security personnel, Stu ushered me into his office where he, the personnell man and I had a brief discussion. They said my resignation was final and I would be escorted out of the building. The Stu asked for my identification badge which allowed a person access to the buildings. I had the badge in my shirt pocet and its outline was clearly visible. I decided to play the Nazi game.

"I don't have the badge with me." I calmly replied.

Stu was visibly annoyed and half stood up and pointed at my shirt pocket. "You have your badge right there. What is that?"

I just looked at him and did what had been done to me so many times; I ignored the obvious. "I don't have the badge with me. I'll mail it to you."

Stu was turning red and he turned to the personnel man and pleaded. "He has it in his pocket!"

The personnel man motioned to Stu to calm down and then turned to me and said, "You can mail it to us. I'll escort you out of the building."

I left the building with the understanding that I would call personnel after the weekend. I couldn't help but think how the same technique that had been used on me so many times over the previous five years was so effective in infuriating Stu. Once again, it proved that my response to an external stimulus was and had been perfectly normal. This is a point that intelligence officers and psychiatrists in Cuba would confirm when I discussed events with them years later. It also confirmed an opinion that I had always had about Stu. I had always considered him a pusilanimous twit and his reaction to my action only confirmed my suspicions. And Stu's claim to fame was that he had been an officer in the military! What can I say.

As I approached my car, I noticed two men sitting in a running car and they were observing me. I calmly walked over and asked, "Can I help you? Are you looking for something?"

"We are looking for the 310 building," the passenger sheepishly replied.

I pointed out the building, and they drove off slowly. As I was driving out of the complex, I passed two security vehicles sitting along the way that I assumed were watching to making sure I left the job site.

I sat alone in my apartment and realized that I had absolutely nothing left in my life. The Nazis had destroyed everything. Economically I was without a job, I had no hope of getting another one, and I was not eligible for unemployment because I had resigned. And of course, if I claimed I had been harassed into resigning, RAM would just produce a voluminous medical file that showed I was mentally ill and had resigned in some sort of psychotic fit. This was truly "1984" at its worst. The Nazis just wrote what they wanted to be the "truth". Reality was totally irrelevant - with enough power you can create a false reality. Power really is the ability to be as insane as you want to be - you can hide and deny reality.

I realized for the first time what an oppresive, slave state amerika is. I was initially chosen because I was poor and would not have any way to excape from the Nazis grip and now poverty would be used to imprison me for the rest of my life.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against
the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God,
so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and
after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of
truth buckled around your waist." The Bible