Whats surprised me most about peoples reactions whenever they find out about my trip to Japan, is the almost universal response of, "but why?” Their faces held in confused expressions, as though I had just told them I was donating my body to science while still healthy, alive and well. Perhaps it is simply the side effects of a lifetime of advertising pushing them into entirely different directions where vacations are concerned. Or perhaps it is the extreme difficulty associated with traveling there due to the language barrier, and too the great expense.
It could just as well be that so few Americans interact with Japanese people in any meaningful way outside of their cuisine, largely because the Japanese people are very insular and will not even look you in the eyes as a matter of respect. On the ugly side of the spectrum it could easily be something as simple as jealousy, not everyone gets a vacation you know. It could even be racism. After all, Imperial Japan slaughtered half of Asia and attempted to take over the world along such notorious figures as Adolf Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin. (Yes, Russia was an axis ally, before Hitler betrayed them.)
Regardless of the reasons, the next surprise came after people find out I'm going to be there for two months, at which point they repeat the same response, " but why?” at this point I'm convinced that all the reasons above are in play, but above them all is the simple difficulty of it.
Its not danger they worry about, for as I've already stated Japan is one of the most advanced nations on earth, nearly devoid of crime, if you discount the Yakuza influence in practically every aspect of business, though that in many ways contributes to their unique brand of business as usual, for very few cultures embrace their criminal class quite like the Japanese.
Its business as usual in the sense that every government ever to exist has been joined at the hip with the preexisting interests held by the monopoly on force. There simply isn't any way to separate the criminals from the system, because the system, by its very nature, is criminal. All governments are based on the control over people, whether by force or consent, but the seed of that system is control none the less, and hierarchy always attract nefarious individuals seeking to shape the world in their own image. Human nature being what it is, programmable, these warped souls seeking the throne will program people into mindless obedience, and the carnage across all of history is the result.
If you haven't found this out yet by now, seeing our world collapse before your very eyes into either brand of tyranny, one wing painted blue, the other red, but all the while controlled by the same white head, then I don't know what to tell you. Except to ask you to look up mind control in relation to the colors I just mentioned. How many nations are there with just those three colors again? The answer will surprise you.
What should one do when they discover powerful methods of controlling people en masse without their knowledge? Especially when such knowledge, if fully understood, would require them to act entirely differently than they always had? For most the answer is simple, they refuse to fully understand it, and pretend as though it never was.
So the people are confused. They ask.
“Will you be trying the wagyu beef? Its the most ethically sourced in the world!”
“No." I’m Vegan.”
Will you be trying the Japanese Sake and whiskey? Its better than all the other alcohols combined.”
“I don’t drink.”
“Then why are you even going?”
“I love to travel.”
”Sounds boring...”
Does it strike anyone as odd that travel or relaxation of any kind has been inexorably tied to the pointless slaughter and ingestion of animals who love and feel much like we do? As well as the annihilation of ones body, mind and willpower via a fermented grain? When did the love of causing suffering surpass the love of living in harmony with ourselves and with nature?
One day humanity will awaken from its self imposed nightmare and live morally. Until then terror shall reign unabated across our world, and freedom shall slip from memory as though it never was. But then, that’s the paradox isn’t it? We’re born into this world with a light burning so bright, so pure, then leave it dimmed and broken, yearning only for how it was in the beginning. Yet some of us return long before our end, and help those around us turn back, towards the light.