"Mark Twain said "It's easier to fool a man than to convince them they've been fooled." So, I embarked on a multi-year pretty depressing journey to figure out how my smart brain could have possibly been so terribly deceived by this system." --- I know exactly what you mean. My multi-year journey began in October of 2008 with the 'financial crisis.' I should post about this at some point, thank you for the inspiration.
"Peace, Abundance, and Liberty,... those are verbs." I agree whole heartedly!! Love your neighbor.