I could have had a stake in the economy, not on a billionaire level but at least on a “doing alright for myself” level. I am very good at chemistry, could’ve gone into pharmaceuticals, the Navy tried recruiting me for their nuclear program… I told them to fuck off (in more polite verbiage) because I planned to grow weed.

I couldn’t bring myself to give a shit because I don’t believe in the overall mission of this nation (or for that matter, other nations under the same economic system). I will not give my life to facilitate wealth accumulation at the expense of exploiting / killing other people and the planet we depend on for life. I have a lot to offer and I wished I lived in a nation worth offering it to, but I don’t, so I’ll probably spend my life trying to contribute to the government as little as possible while helping other people as much as possible. I wish I could help to further our species, but I’m concerned anything I contribute would be used one way or another to degrade this planet. It’s advice I learned from a prison documentary: “Take everything they give you, give nothing in return.”