“You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes." The term red pill refers to a human that is aware of the true nature of the Matrix.” Morpheus to Neo from the film, The Matrix.

Recently I was faced with one of the most important decisions of my life. This year’s Presidential election offered me and the rest of American people the chance to choose between the red pill or the blue pill. All but one of the candidates offered the blue pill, the blissful ignorance of illusion. I chose the red pill offered by a certain senator from Vermont. Shortly thereafter I discovered what it feels like to be awakened inside of the matrix.

Social media had been readying me for his message for the past couple of years. Friends I’ve connected with through my Facebook author page from countries like Sweden, the UK, France, and New Zealand, have educated me on how far behind we are here in the U.S in terms of quality of life. When you begin communicating with these people and you learn there is a disparity that is almost unbelievable. Yes, most of them do pay higher income taxes than we do here in America but not as much as you might think. I won’t delve into details but the benefits these people receive far outweigh any of the extra costs.

I was shocked that the majority of the industrialized world doesn’t have to worry about going into bankruptcy if they get ill. Here in the US, even if you do have healthcare coverage (which by law now you have to be or pay a fine), you run the very real risk of losing everything you’ve worked all of your life for if you suffer a major sickness or an accidental injury.

Also, quality college education has become so expensive that it locks many graduates into years of debt. Young adults graduating today who’ve had to finance their educations will spend their best earning years paying back their student loans instead of being able to save and gain the value of compound interest to eventually buy their freedom from the matrix. Sadly, many will young Americans of this generation will never know a time in their adult life when they are free of debt enslavement.

Let’s face it, corruption exists in all governments and probably always will. But here in the U.S. it’s been taken to an epic level. Through lobbying, American corporations have infiltrated our government agencies such as the FDA, the Federal Reserve, and the EPA and are essentially writing legislation that that is in their favor.

We are raised in America to believe we have the most freedoms of anywhere on Earth. We are raised to believe if we’re willing to work hard we all have an equal chance at success and we have the freedom to choose our leaders. We are taught that ours is a government, “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Many of us buy into this and some even wear our years of back-breaking toil and hustling needed to survive and thrive inside of the matrix as a badge of honor. Some even hold up the tales of their struggles as an example that the American dream is still alive. The reality is that in the United States hard work no longer guarantees a good quality of life; you also need a fair amount of luck. It just shouldn’t be this way in a country as rich and powerful as ours.

In America we shouldn’t have such a huge income gap between the rich and the poor. In America we should have a proper middle class, not a middle class that couldn’t exist without the crutch of credit. In America, we should have higher standard of free education, affordable high quality healthcare, less dependence on fossil fuels, elected officials who work for us instead of the corporate elite. I could go on and on.

Bernie’s campaign stoked the flames of my hope that this American dream could again come true for more than just a select few of us. I will always remember the night I realized Bernie’s dream just wasn’t going to happen. It was late and my wife and I were lying in bed watching Bernie Sanders speak at the Democratic National Convention on her iPhone. About a minute into the speech it felt as though someone sucked all of the hope out of the room. I felt sad, I felt numb, then came the anger. We had all heard of the countless incidences of voter fraud during the Democratic primaries and I believed in my heart that justice would be served.

The outcome of the Democratic Presidential primaries were a clear example that most of what we’ve been taught are half-truths with volumes of fine print. I believe Bernie and many of his supporters thought he had a real shot at the nomination but I think we all underestimated the depth of the rabbit hole. The American people had spoken and they were shown how little their voices counted. The night Bernie spoke at the Democratic National Convention I heard the frustration in his voice. I felt his pain oozing from in between his pauses, the sweat on his brow, and by the defeated tone of his words.

There is a Greek proverb that says, “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” Bernie has done just that so maybe there’s hope for us yet.

So this is how history will play out, millions of us felt the Bern but our ancestors will enjoy the shade. At the end of this emotional cycle there must come some form of acceptance. I accept now that the kind of substantive change that Bernie desired for America may not be achieved in my lifetime or for several generations to come. One thing is an absolute truth Mr. Sanders, the red pill changed me…it changed millions of Americans and we thank you for this. Future generations of Americans will thank you even more.

What comes next is anyone’s guess. I'm not sure if I want stick around to find out how deep this rabbit hole goes. A very large part of my soul wants to leave our shores and live out the rest of my life in a part of the world that will bring me more joy, a higher quality of life, and the chance to grow old with dignity. A place where the playing field is more fair and more just. Once you are awakened inside of the matrix you are free. Once you are free gone are the days of your slumber. Once the sleep is wiped free from your eyes you begin to realize that just maybe Wonderland never even existed.

~eric vance walton~