Lucas Gage: U.S. Empire & Neoliberal Globalism Stretching Thin, World’s Getting Sick of It

Born in Italy on May 18, 1984, I came to America at the age of two, and have lived most of my life in the State of New Jersey.

After I saw the 9/11 attacks live on television, I signed up for the Marine Corps. Four days after my high school graduation, I went straight to boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina. I endured three months of hell, but graduated as a United States Marine.

During my service, I was deployed twice to Iraq: Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, and Operation Enduring Freedom in 2004. I was honorably discharged as a corporal after four years of service. But my return to civilian life would prove to be difficult. Within months of being home, I began to experience symptoms of post­traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This affected my personal relationships and several other facets of my life.

Trying to find out how to fix what was wrong with me, I stumbled upon neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). I found the subject interesting and decided to become an NLP practitioner. After two years of study, I graduated from the Center for Positive Change and Hypnosis in New York. NLP helped me greatly with my personal challenges, and so I wanted to help others with theirs. I started a life-coaching business, and helped a few clients, but it didn’t last long, thanks to my PTSD.

I was very angry and resentful at this time. I really hated how corrupt the system was, and it drove me into politics. Becoming an anti-war activist, I spent many years exposing the warmongers and corrupt traitors in our government. But after years of activism, I only made a small dent in the narrative, and the stress and anxiety trying to “wake” everyone up, only made my PTSD worse.

Still trying to heal myself, I stumbled upon the works of Marcus Aurelius, Alan Watts, and Lao Tzu. Their teachings led me down a spiritual path that changed my life. The combination of NLP, reading their work, and practicing meditation, led me to have a spiritual epiphany. This caused me to abandon my belief system and transcend identity politics completely. I decided to quit politics and get back what I originally wanted to do: writing, philosophy, and life coaching.