It feels like we’re currently living through a strange time in history. A time of transition towards an unknown outcome.

Western society at large appears to be in general decline, largely because of corrupt, self-serving governments and media corporations that have waged campaigns designed to create divides among citizens for years.

Take Twitter. It’s an online shitstorm where people do nothing more than belittle the views of others.

Look at the political climate in the US. The left and the right seem more intolerant of each other than ever before. This intolerance and entitlement led to riots across the nation, including the storming of the Capitol Building.

Here in Australia, things aren’t much better. Serial abuser of power Daniel Andrews allegedly has a team of volunteers who canvas social media, flooding posts about him with messages of support and solidarity. If he’s doing, he’s surely not the only one.

We see aggressive protest groups like Extinction Rebellion causing chaos in the streets because the only way they know to force their opinions down people’s throats is to cause as much inconvenience to others as possible.

The common denominator in all this is a society that does not tolerate conflicting opinions. There is no calm debating, no compromise and no civility. It is driven by people who simply cannot handle not getting their own way. They are petulant, spoiled children inside adult bodies.

The way most governments have responded to this is to increasingly erode the rights and privileges afforded to society. Modern technology allows levels of monitoring and control never before seen, and those in power have seized upon this with zero regard to the freedoms and privacy of citizens.

This has been most obvious with the lockdowns throughout the pandemic, but it extends much further. You need a license or permit to do just about anything these days. Leisure activities like fishing are regulated to the point of sucking the fun out of them.

Want to get a gun and go hunting? Prepare yourself for police-run safety courses, a mountain of paperwork, background checks and of course, numerous fees and permits.

Everything you do, they want to know. Not only do they want to know, they want to charge you a fee. They line their pockets with money from citizens paying to do things that should freely be available to them.

This, of course, is on top of the exorbitant taxes you pay on everything already. Income tax (introduced “temporarily” during the First World War but still stealing from your pay cheque today), GST, fuel excise, carbon taxes and whatever else the greedy bastards can think of.

Now, I’m sure most of us wouldn’t mind so much if our tax dollars were spent responsibly. But no, every other week there’s a news report about another politician spending tax dollars on trips or events they shouldn’t have.

If it’s not dubious expenses then they’re voting for yet another pay rise for themselves. Does anyone else work in a workplace where you get together and vote for your own pay rises whenever you feel like it? No, it’s just politicians, who don’t care if we hate them because they’re getting rich off our money. The joke’s on us, suckers.

Since these are the people who impose greater and greater expenses and restrictions on our lives and movements, then it is within our rights as citizens to rebel against those expenses and restrictions to a reasonable extent.

So yeah, break some rules. Just the little ones, because there’s no point landing yourself in jail just to “make a point” to the government. They won’t listen, they don’t care and you’ll only be punishing yourself.

So what can you do? How can you rebel with little or no repercussions? How do we reclaim the freedoms that have been taken from us?

Firstly, don’t vote. An election is a total wank and a waste of time. Anyone who thinks “every vote counts” is naïve. Anyone who chooses a political side and defends it vehemently is an idiot. Neither side of government cares about you, your life or your loved ones. All you are to them is a potential vote to be exploited.

Step one is to accept that all politicians are liars and not to be trusted. If your vote was truly valuable, is there anyone in Australian politics today who deserves your vote? No, there isn’t. They’re all self-serving scum. Every last one of them.

But wait, you say. Voting is compulsory. Won’t I get a fine if I don’t vote?

No, you won’t. You’ll get a fine if you don’t show up and get your name ticked off the electoral roll, but there’s nothing in place to ensure you cast a valid vote.

You might think just showing up just to get your name marked off is a waste of time and an inconvenience, which it is. But if you get fined, that’s just more money they’re stealing from you. Besides, if you find a voting centre running a sausage sizzle (as many do) then it’s not a complete waste of time.

What you may not know is that any ballot form that is not completed 100% accurately is counted as an invalid vote. So all you have to do is put a blank form in the box, or tick or number the boxes incorrectly, or draw a big dick on it and your vote will be counted but not attributed to any party.

This is where your vote can make a difference, because invalid votes are counted. If enough people cast invalid votes to increase the number of invalid votes since previous elections significantly, the electoral commission will see this and it will indicate that the voting population is losing faith in the system.

Will this affect any meaningful change? Probably not, but it won’t go unnoticed.

So this is step number one in a nutshell: don’t vote; cast an invalid vote instead.

The next step is to clarify in your own mind what you consider to be a decent, moral way of living. A good rule of thumb is to consider how you would like to be treated by others and then act in the same way.

This personal moral code should now dictate how you live your life with complete disregard for any rules or regulations. Do what you want, within reason. Most people share a similar common decency, so you won’t be out of step with your neighbours.

Simple accountability and consideration should override the overreach of modern government within society.

So if the road ahead and behind you is empty and the conditions are good, then forget the speed limit and drive as fast as you and your vehicle can safely manage. Use common sense rather than being a slave to a speed limit sign. The only consequence you should consider is a crash, so drive to avoid it.

Next, do everything you can do minimise how much tax you pay. The expense of using an accountant for your tax return is usually offset by a larger return. Claim every deduction available and do not declare any income that the ATO cannot trace. They’d call it “fraud” because they know that word scares people, so cover your tracks well.

Every extra dollar they take is probably another .70c at least that they’ll waste. It’s better off in your pocket than theirs.

You should be seeking a lifestyle that I would call “protest through living” whereby instead of protesting something in the traditional street march sense, you simply live your life in spite of it.

The pandemic-induced curfews and lockdowns are a great example. Stay-at-home orders under the guise of public safety were a gross overreach of government, but marching the streets with signs and chants was never going to achieve anything.

Instead, all those protesters should have just gone about their business as usual. The only compromise should have been social distancing and wearing masks in crowded spaces. Nothing beyond that was ever necessary for a glorified flu.

So if the government introduces a law or restriction you don’t agree with, don’t protest it, just ignore it and do what you want. Protesting only draws attention because you’ll get away with a lot more if you keep a low profile.

Subtlety is key. If you’re in possession of something illegal then hide it, don’t brag about it. If you’re driving down empty freeways at night at 200km/h don’t post it to YouTube.

If you go to Bunnings and buy the bits you need to make a potato cannon then don’t drive around with it on your passenger seat.

Screw the government; they’re the biggest criminals in the country. So do whatever you want regardless of what the government says, but do it smart and do it quietly.

Don’t give them a reason to interfere with your life any more than they already do. What it means to be free in this country is changing and not for the better. So don’t make it any worse for yourself.