Essential Workers or Essential Control?

The Vital Role of Small Businesses in Preserving Democracy

I decided to continue my rant about you being an essential worker. Understanding that you are essential is fundamental to the idea that you will not comply when they try to designate people as essential and non-essential. Yes, Non-compliance is controversial but it is vital—so we don’t buy into the narrative surrounding “essential workers” and the real impact of closing small businesses during lockdowns.

While it’s crucial to protect public health, there’s a growing concern that the definition of “essential” is becoming an exclusive club that only big corporations can join. And if we don’t critically analyze this trend, we risk walking into an unwelcome future that could resemble a communist or technocratic society.  After all, we have heard that by 2030 we will own nothing and be happy – it makes it easier for this plan to be rolled out, if people become dependent on the state and large corporations. At Rebel Heart, we maintain that the Freedom Economy should work together to help each other become financially independent from the government, as a form of protection from tyranny.

Essential for Whom?

The term “essential worker” has become a rallying cry for recognizing the often-overlooked heroes in healthcare, sanitation, and other vital industries. However, the word “essential” has taken on an ambiguous meaning. Why are giant corporations deemed essential while small businesses offering similar services are forced to shut their doors? We must recognize the power dynamics at play here.

The Risk of Wealth and Power Transfer

When only mega-corporations remain open during crises, they potentially transfer wealth and power from the many to the few. Make no mistake, this could be more than a mere side-effect of well-intended public health measures. Such a transfer could be a calculated step toward a system where the middle class evaporates, and what remains are the super-rich and everyone else. This is a scenario that eerily mimics a communist or technocratic structure.

The Economic Backbone

Let’s not forget that small businesses:

• Contribute to about 44% of U.S. GDP
• Create two-thirds of new private sector jobs
• Empower local communities in ways that big corporations simply can’t

By supporting small businesses, we ensure money flows through all layers of society, fortifying a robust middle class that is the bedrock of any democratic nation. We are in the business of transferring wealth from the rich to ‘we the people’. Our choices matter, whether it is staying open or creating a strong customer base, that will support you in a crisis, or choosing to use discernment over what we believe and what is propaganda.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Vote with Your Wallet

Use your purchasing power to support local businesses. Every dollar spent at a local store rather than a multinational chain keeps communities vibrant and diverse. It’s starves them of there ever increasing power.

Be Vocal

Speak up about the importance of small businesses in your community. Whether it’s through social media or city council meetings, let your voice be heard. It’s tough to stand up when cancellation and censorship is a powerful tool to silence the voice of reason, but if we build our network, and we work together, we can become uncancellable.

Educate

Inform those around you about the risks of allowing only big corporations to dominate the ‘essential’ list. An informed populace is the best defense against any form of tyranny. Often this comes with resistance, people do not want their reality stretched, and their identities threatened, so do this gently. Guided Discover is a great tool to use, where questions are being asked, and people can come into a new awareness.  Also as a rule, don’t flood people to the point of fatigue, a good rule of thumb is offer 10% of what you know. Let that sink in and hope people ask for more.  Regardless of your wisdom, permission based discovery works a lot better than evangelical preaching, throwing ideas that are too big to jump to through the framework of someones reality.

Concluding Thoughts

As we navigate these tumultuous ( but amazing) times, it’s good to be vigilant, questioning the implications of terms like “essential workers” and policies that disproportionately impact small businesses. To preserve the spirit and structure of democracy—and to prevent a slide toward communism or technocracy—we must support all facets of our economic landscape.

Our freedoms are only as secure as the institutions that uphold them. Let’s ensure small businesses remain a thriving part of that infrastructure.

Keep questioning. Keep resisting. Keep supporting.

Jax