Terence McKenna on Culture: Why Culture Alienates and Dehumanizes Us!

"Every culture institutionalizes certain forms of behavior that communicate and encourage certain forms of thinking and acting, thus moulding the character of its citizens. To the degree that the individual is made an object of constant mental manipulation, to the degree that cultural institutions may tend to weaken intellectual and spiritual strength, to the degree that knowledge of the mind is used to tame and condition people instead of educating them, to that degree does the culture itself produce men and women who are predisposed to accept an authoritarian way of life." Joost A.M. Meerloo

"Culture teaches that only “nuts” and “crazies” challenge authority. Law is the holiest and most sacred emblem of culture. Insanity is not an inability to perceive reality; it is a willing rejection of reality in favor of the artificial constructs of tyranny. Law threatens violence upon all who refuse to obey it. When you chose to act upon an artificial view of reality, you are insane. People obey law out of fear of death, until they can be properly cultured to accept the rule of law without question. Cultural indoctrination is insanity. The definition of insanity is blind obedience. It is insane to believe that those in power over people rightfully belong there. It is insane to assume that they will always be there. It is insane to believe that law has the right to command the obedience of people. The culture of royalty, the culture of patriotism and the culture of law are all insanity. No human being who understands the fullness of their own worth would ever accept the notion that someone ought to rule over them. It is the function of culture to blind the eyes of people to their own worth, and to deafen their ears to any speech that may teach them. When cultural influence is at its peak, insanity ravages the mind. Obedience is the object of authority, and authority wants no possibility of rebellion. The definition of insanity is blind obedience." Jeremy Locke