The Man keeps the good people down.

He keeps us divided, sniping at each other over stupid stuff while he consolidates his control over our lives. The Man is all about control. He hates freedom like a cat hates a bath. You might as well stick it to The Man because The Man sure sticks it to you.

Every time some kid's dreams are crushed by a teacher who tells them to study accounting when they want to study music, The Man has won a small victory.

Every time some kid signs up for the Army because of The Man's slick advertisement promising him adventure and success, The Man has won a battle. The Man gets paid to make the weapons that kid will be taking into battle with him.

Every time anybody pays their cable bill, The Man smiles.

Every time somebody stays in a job they hate because they're stuck there, The Man has a slave for life.

You'd better believe The Man sticks it to you. Here are

Nine great ways to stick it to The Man:

1. Be deviant. I'm not talking about criminal deviance, just throwing small monkey wrenches into the Matrix every now and again. Wear a funny hat. Go over the top in your "What I did over summer vacation" essay. The Man wants every guy to have a buzz cut and every girl to wear nylons. He's all about conformity.
2. Don't borrow money, especially from Man-approved institutions like banks. Borrowing money from The Man is like handing him the chains he will use to shackle you.
3. Generate your own power. Build your own solar panels or to make it super-simple, your own solar water heater.
4. Make your own stuff. Sell it for cash. The Man hates cash, especially when it's in your hands. He also hates it when people make their own stuff because it means he sells less stuff.
5. Cut out cable TV. This is a bold and revolutionary act, but you will be glad you did it. The Man wants you to waste your time in front of the TV, and he especially wants you to pay for the privilege.
6. Grow your own food from heirloom seeds and save your seeds. The Man hates this more than anything. He loves to force-feed you the genetically engineered crap on his supermarket's shelves. He loves to sell terminator seeds to farmers. The last thing he wants is for you to realize that with just a little effort you can coax great food out of the ground on your very own.
7. Make art or music. The Man finds creativity threatening unless it's being deployed to sell the things he sells. When people are creative, they are free, and freedom leads to dangerous thinking.
8. Practice random acts of kindness. These rattle The Man's nerves like nothing else. He likes it when we fight amongst ourselves -- divide and conquer -- because it keeps our eyes off our real problem, namely, The Man being all up in our asses all the time.
9. Be fearless. The Man enjoys our fear very much because it makes us easy to herd around like sheep.

Thank you for your bravery in sticking it to The Man. Good luck and godspeed!
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PS -- If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy How to Be Cool.