“Yeah buffer. The Family had a lot of buffers!”
–Willie Cicci, The Godfather Part II

According to the rules-based order, the State is the only one allowed to use the tool called violence, whether through noble soldiers, noble police officers, judges or lawyers in lawfare, or simple bureaucrats denying a claim and sentencing people to malnutrition.

It is the only entity allowed to kidnap and incarcerate. It is the only entity licensed to execute and kill, and if innocent people, as often happens, are robbed of their freedom or their lives, well, that’s a shame, but it’s just how the sausage gets made. This is “the price of liberty”.

It seems like sausage is made of pig carcasses.

But really and mostly and non-metaphorically, it’s made of money.

The Family is a metaphor as well. Once upon a time, families were defined by blood ties, or tribal ones at the very least.

In the state of Progress blood may have little to do with it. Families are defined by sausage ties–primarily, economic relationships.

Cosa Nostra means: Our Thing.

“Ours”.

(“our thing” or “this thing of ours” or simply “our cause” / “our interest“)

You can lead, within our thing, or follow.

Both options mean serving the Thing, the State, and of course Its Interests. Its profits–our profits.

Other choices are imaginable. Other choices mean, though, that you are in some ill-defined but nonetheless tangible sense no longer fully

One of Us.

Other choices mean Isolation.

So for the love of all we hold Holy, kids, please.

Stay in school. Get that bachelor button, get Made at any cost.

And oh.

Don’t forget to vote, either. It’s a sacred ritual. Democracy needs you bad.

Honest. Would I kid you, kid? Nah.