Being repeatedly smacked in the face with a ball-peen hammer is preferable to listening to anyone discuss politics. No worries. This piece will neither indict nor endorse any political party or politician.

I am about to point a finger at Americans in particular — and humanity in general — but not in the collective. This is from my heart to each of you individually, because, honestly, you and I are the problem.

We have been humiliated.

It has become clear that in order for me to understand our crazy world and possibly affect some positive change within it, I must better understand who I really am. It is my hope that you will choose to join me on this excursion to examine the meaning of truth, honor and our shared humanity.

This international mayhem the world is experiencing reflects on us as individuals because we have surrendered our collective power. We all should agree that we want happiness. The majority of us would probably also agree that we strive to be people who are righteous and good at our core.

Many of us can remember an America that was once honorable and aspired to greatness. Yet, somehow we now find ourselves living in a world bereft of empathy that is drowning in evil deeds and lies.

Lost in love … and money

Going all the way back to Jesus Christ we have massacred those who attempt to teach us love and truth. Gandhi? Shot. MLK? Shot. Bob Marley? Shot. John Lennon? Shot. Abe Lincoln? Shot. The Kennedy brothers? Shot. Medgar Evers? Shot.

Telling people to love each other is an express ticket to the grave.

The true rulers of this world like it that way. Most of us do not understand who rules our world. The truth is hidden within the fog of nationalism, imaginary borders and impotent governments. This makes it easy for them to manipulate us into blaming our troubles on those outside of ourselves.

The film “Network” told us all who was in charge of this world 50 years ago. In it there is a famous speech by Arthur Jensen, who was the head of a corporation played by Ned Beatty. It is directed at beleaguered news anchor Howard Beale (Peter Finch) who derailed a multibillion-dollar deal that was bad for everyday people like us, but great for rich shareholders.

“It is the international system of currency which determines the totality of life on this planet,” Jensen explained. “That is the natural order of things today … You get up on your little 21-inch screen and howl about America and democracy. There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM and ITT and AT&T and DuPont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon. Those are the nations of the world today.”

Every human being is subject to these “nations” now. The dollar is almighty in our world. Having stacks of cash puts you above the law — infallible and deserving of effusive loyalty and love from the masses.

Rich and all too powerful

Sketchy character and reprehensible behavior will neither diminish your shine, nor — more importantly — your power and influence if your pockets are fat enough. Captains of industry and business moguls were once just admired for the things they created that improved the lives of folks who worked for a living during the Gilded Age.

We also elected leaders who would not let the wealthy forget that it was the American people who ultimately enabled them to occupy their pedestals. Government agencies were created to protect the working class from the powerful interests which sought to manipulate, enslave and rob the common folk at every turn.

There would be no Food and Drug Administration were it not for Upton Sinclair’s watershed novel “The Jungle.” Antitrust legislation originated because we came to understand that, without robust competition, big businesses will consistently rob the citizenry through price-gouging. Glass-Steagel was passed in response to greedy bankers driving the worldwide economy off a cliff and into the Great Depression.

The result of these safeguards was decades of economic growth and security for the working class. One job sustained most households. Opportunities for upward mobility were available to most Americans. The America of my youth was not perfect, but we retained hope for a more perfect union … someday.

Politicians once felt enough of an obligation to the well-being of our republic that Lyndon Baines Johnson personally went to the Ninth Ward and St. Bernard Parish almost immediately after Hurricane Betsy devastated New Orleans in 1965 to encourage the poorest of her citizens and proclaimed, “Your president is here!”

Material world

Everything changed when you and I went from just admiring the wealthy … to worshipping them.

I never thought I was poor until I was taken out of the grade school in my neighborhood and placed in a school for gifted children. I had never even heard of Izod, Ralph Lauren or Gucci before that. There was nothing wrong with my canvas shoes that did not even come in a box until I attended a school where almost everyone else wore shiny leather Converse, Nike and addidas.

The ritualistic degradation of those with less soon became the norm. Being poor suddenly became a crime. I would get off the bus blocks away from where I lived so no one would see my home. There was a persistent shame that haunted me, not for what I had, but rather for who I was.

The message that took root in that shame was that those with less are not as important as those with more. Therefore, those at the top of the heap are also those who are the most important. This is the lie that has brought us all to this desperate crossroads in our history.

Exponential wealth is a sure path to ultimate power now. Poor people are trampled to dust all around the globe without empathy. The ultra-rich work, pollute and starve them to death as if it were a kindness. Now they have set their sights on you and I.

Sticky situation

The working class has become the latest cash cow of the ultra rich. These people never stop putting their hands in our pockets one 12-month, no-interest deal, special offer or sports betting app at a time. Working-class life increasingly resembles pushing molasses up a sandy hill in winter.

Raising a family is the job of grown men and women. It is not supposed to be easy … but not this hard, either.

Worshipping the men who master our parasitic economic system causes us to emulate their attitudes and behaviors. This is where you and I become complicit in this ego-centered, fraudulent and hateful world that now threatens the future of all our children.

Our net worth — not our character — defines us.

I drive a 10-year-old Mercedes that drains my finances with repair and maintenance costs. I am obsessed with Ralph Lauren to this day and stay perpetually engulfed in an asphyxiating cloud of Polo cologne to prove it.

Through cunning, guile and sheer force of will I find a way to somehow continue living beyond my means high above an alligator pit of debt on the soul-crushing tightrope most of us share.

Working stiffs have adopted the pride and arrogance of the wealthy. They will do anything to get their way. They must win at all costs, are too proud to ever admit when they are wrong or make mistakes and look to exploit every advantage.

Pride and arrogance are directly related to deception, greed and selfishness.

Humble people make a realistic assessment of themselves. True humility allows us to see ourselves as we really are. A humble person understands and accepts his limitations. He will listen to advice or seek assistance from others. He has empathy and compassion for all those who suffer.

Humility is directly related to honesty.

You and I have created this world with our unwavering worship of a ravenous socioeconomic beast that dehumanizes us at every turn. We are so busy fighting each other for a bigger share of the scraps that none of us can see how powerful we can be when we stand together to ensure our collective future.

It is easy to identify our greatest enemy … just go stand in front of a mirror.