Disguised Influence - Blatant Oppression

Occupied, busy, taken - like a table at a restaurant, or a sky full of clouds. Some things have cycles of being free and then busy. No one objects to the sky being occupied by clouds. The clouds blow in and later they are gone. No problems.

Other occupations are objected to because they cause suffering and unfairly benefit the few at the expense of the many. Identities, lifestyles, and values can be dictated to individuals strongly pressured to accept them without question. Abraham Maslow refers to the "authentic" person as one who has considered and chosen their own values and identity. Socrates suggested that the unexamined life is not worth living.

In a more obvious way, the military invasion of a sovereign nation and its subsequent occupation, disallow autonomous functioning of that government to choose for itself. Inevitably, military invasions are intended to benefit those affiliated with the invaders. They create suffering and oppression for those on the other side.

In the case of my own country, the USA, there are strong pressures on individuals that circumvent the authentic decision making of free people. These pressures create oprresion and suffering here and a citizenry that supports the take-over of other nations in the name of freedom and democracy.