The Modern Allegory of the Cave

The lies of our day, escaping the cave, and thriving outside of it

“80% of Americans are being exposed to yet another chemical that is linked to reduced fertility.”

That was the headline that pointed the finger at Cheerios and Quaker Oats as the carriers of “chlormequat”, a chemical that is linked to altered fetal growth and delayed puberty.

It seems like there’s a study that comes out every few weeks that tells us yet another corporation is guilty of poisoning us in some way.

But to be honest, who cares? 

Who cares, because dang near everything in the modern world is slowly poisoning us, so why worry? 

Sure, the food in our grocery stores isn’t real, chemicals are dumped into our water, we wear plastic clothing that leeches into our bodies, and we allow ourselves to be experimented on and drugged to no end.

Oh, and no worries that we have a senile group of thieves that are looting this country barren while they allow all of the above to line their pockets.

So, yeah, that’s all too much to worry about, so we just won’t, especially because we have some sweet celebrity gossip to pay attention to.

So, who cares?

YOU SHOULD.

Listen, I know it can certainly be demoralizing for those of us who want a good future for our children and grandchildren, to see the state of the world for what it is.

I find it equal parts frustrating and infuriating that all of the above is happening, but even worse, that the majority of people don’t seem to notice, or even worse, just don’t care.

But when I find myself getting frustrated, I remind myself that I don’t need to convince EVERYONE - I just need to convince a few.

Let’s get into an ancient example of this divide between people, before going into what you should do instead in times that we have apathetic people vs those who want to help for a brighter tomorrow.

The Allegory of the Cave - Modern Times

If you are unfamiliar with Plato’s Republic and the "Allegory of the Cave" found within it, here is a summary: 

Plato describes a group of people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall from objects passing in front of a fire behind them and give names to these shadows. 

The shadows are the prisoners' reality because they have never seen anything else; they do not realize that what they see are merely shadows of objects in front of a fire.

The story then goes on to say, that if one of these prisoners were to escape and see the world for what it was outside of the cave, the prisoner would do one of two things.

Option one: He wouldn’t believe it and he would run back into the cave to what was a more comforting reality.

Option two: The freed prisoner, upon realizing his life up to that point was a falsehood, would return to the cave and attempt to share what he’s learned with the remaining prisoners so that they too could be free to enjoy the real world above the cave.

But the unfortunate reality of option two is that the prisoners who remain would believe that the freed man has lost his mind and anyone who tries to talk them into leaving the cave would also lose their mind. Therefore, anyone who attempts to get them out of the cave should be killed or ostracized.

We have another example of this in modern cinema of course…

Escaping the cave

At this point, you are probably running through scenarios in your head of when you’ve tried to talk to or even convince a friend or a family member of all of the things you’ve learned in your journey and they called you crazy for it. 

Times where you were the prisoner who escaped the cave and tried to help your fellow prisoners.

These people are those who find their comfort in Plato’s Cave, where they’ve come to accept the shadows as their reality.

Some people will ALWAYS cling to their shadows. You need to know when it’s time for you to move on to find your tribe of other people who have escaped the cave.

But once you’re out, now what? Well, you share with others.

Share with anyone who will listen. Most people you run into who are living “outside the cave” are going to be able to be able to appreciate meeting like-minded people. They’ll also likely be able to teach you something as well as learn something from you.

Thriving outside of the cave

Now, unfortunately, all of the terrible things I started this newsletter with are true, and it can be overwhelming looking at it all and trying to figure out where to start.

But here’s what’s comforting: You need to start on yourself first.

Begin working on yourself to be healthier, wealthier, friendlier, and more influential to those around you.

When you begin to win and escape the cave, you’ll inspire those around you to do the same.

We’ve got some work to do, so might as well get started.

Now, I’m curious: What was your moment that you “escaped the cave”? Comment below and let us and the community know!

-Sebastian