Imagine a Prison

Imagine a huge prison that houses men, women, and children. Within this prison people are free to move about and interact, yet there are some very strict rules. Once a year, the prisoners must give a portion of their income to the warden. They may only consume materials authorized by the warden. They may only travel at speeds below the warden's "speed limit". They may only fish if they buy a license from the warden. The list goes on and on. Over the years, the wardens have introduced thousands of rules, and if the inmates don't follow these rules, more money is demanded from them. If they don't hand over their money, they are kidnapped and tortured.

In this prison, the guards force the children to take classes where they are taught that they are free. They are told that the guards are only there for their protection, and that the warden has their best interests at heart. The prison has been around for so long that all prisoners once took these classes, and all prisoners believe they are free.

Every few years a new warden is elected by the inmates. Inmates point to this as evidence they are free, as they have been instructed. Yet the election is a sham. The race is between two people, and both have similar agendas for the prison. Both will institute new rules and teach another group of children to love their prison.

To keep the people in their cells, the warden pays thousands of inmates to fight against other prisoners in far away lands. The prisoners love their prison so much they are willing to make sacrifices to help beat the "enemy". The pretense of war is the only excuse the warden needs to implement his new measures without prison riots. The inmates blame the "enemy" for all the problems in their prison, and ask the warden to take new power to fix the problems.

Would you be able to tell if you were in this prison?