Attack and Counterattack in Chess: The Industries That Control Your Life

“Every day, you’re playing chess with industries that want to control your next move—are you the player, or the piece?”

To live fully, you’ve got to have control over your own body and mind. Sounds easy. But we live in a world where every industry is basically saying, “Nah, we’ll hold that for you.” Education, religion, money, entertainment, even your prescriptions—they all want a piece. Sometimes it feels less like free will and more like a subscription plan you forgot to cancel.

Chess gives us a way to look at it. Every piece on the board has power, potential, and purpose. And every industry in American capitalism has its hustle. The pawn, the knight, the rook—their moves are as predictable as the commercials that interrupt your favorite show. Let’s break it down.

Pawns are the most underestimated pieces on the board. Slow, small, no style. People treat pawns like, “Yeah, you go first—die for the cause.” But pawns are the foundation. That’s the education system.

We crawl through grades the same way pawns crawl across the board: one step at a time, twelve years straight. By the twelfth move, the structure’s in place. By the twelfth grade, so is your “foundation.” Or at least enough for you to figure out who Tupac was and how to pass a test without actually reading the book.

And sure, pawns can get promoted—but let’s be honest. Not everybody makes it to the back rank. Some kids get shuffled right into debt, others into minimum wage jobs, and some straight into the school-to-prison pipeline. And the system? The system just shrugs like, “Well, those are the rules.”

But pawns can transform. That’s the point. We can do better, especially now with tools like AI. But here’s the real question: are we gonna use that tech to teach kids and free their minds—or just make better multiple-choice tests?

Knights move funny. They hop over things, they show up where you don’t expect them. Kind of like drug commercials. You’re watching a basketball game, and suddenly: “Ask your doctor about Snorextra. Side effects may include loss of friends, loss of teeth, and sudden death.”

Big Pharma is everywhere. TV, radio, social media, grocery stores—half the ingredients in your snacks already sound like medication. They’ve made themselves unavoidable, and the strategy is simple: keep you hooked. Whether it’s painkillers, antidepressants, or “wellness supplements,” addiction is what keeps the knight strong.

But here’s the thing—knights only have power if we let them. If we control our habits, our vices, our impulses, the knight loses ground. But if not, well, then your knight is basically running your whole household—and charging you for the privilege.

The rook? That’s the big gun. Straight lines, no hesitation. Just wipes out anything in its path. That’s the military-industrial complex. Police, too.

This country was born in violence, raised in violence, and sustains itself in violence. That’s the rook’s job: keep the machine moving. Overseas wars, civil unrest, constant spending—it doesn’t matter if we need it, as long as the rook keeps rolling forward.

But you don’t fight a rook head-on. You counter it by being prepared. Train yourself, train your community. Know how to defend your peace without being naïve about what’s out there. Because while America loves to brand itself as “the land of the free,” history shows it’s more like “the land of the heavily armed rook.”

Now the bishop—sliding diagonally, working from a distance—that’s entertainment. You don’t even see it coming. Music, sports, movies, gambling, gaming, porn—you name it.

The bishop’s power is quiet but deep. We know more movie quotes than we do laws. We worship athletes like prophets. Families argue harder about LeBron versus Jordan than they do about their credit card debt.

That’s how entertainment works: it distracts you just enough to forget who’s paying the bills. The bishop slides into our lives so seamlessly, you don’t even realize you’ve spent six hours binge-watching a show you don’t even like that much.

The fix? Treat family conversations about money, health, and governance with the same energy as game night. Because if we don’t, the bishop will keep running the board while we argue about the referee.

The queen is the powerhouse. Moves like a rook and a bishop. That’s banks and financial institutions. They fund everything. They control everything. Without the queen, the whole board shifts.

Credit cards, mortgages, student loans, investments—she’s in every corner of the game. And during the pandemic, people finally started realizing just how much control she has. Suddenly, financial literacy became cool. People were on Instagram learning about compound interest like it was a new TikTok dance.

The queen can be your greatest ally or your worst nightmare. Because let’s be real—some folks are out here making millions on the stock market, and some are just praying their debit card doesn’t decline at the gas pump. Same queen, different game.

And then there’s the king. The most important piece, but also the most fragile. Protect the king, win the game. That’s religion.

Every decision, every move on the board is about protecting the king. Same in life—faith dictates choices, shapes communities, guides families. And sometimes, manipulates them. Religion can inspire hope, but it can also be used to control.

People will move mountains for their king. They’ll sacrifice every other piece just to keep him safe. And you better believe the people running those institutions know it. That’s real power—not the flashy kind, but the kind that convinces you that your sacrifice is holy.

So here we are, staring at the board. Pawns, knights, bishops, rooks—all in position. Education, pharma, military, entertainment, money, religion. Each piece has its strategy. Each one wants control.

But here’s the truth: you’re not just a piece. You’re a player. Every move you make can shift the balance. Even the pawn—small, underestimated—can flip the game with enough foresight and discipline.

So the question is simple: are you gonna let yourself be played, or are you finally ready to play?

The board is set. The pieces are moving. Just remember—checkmate doesn’t go to the one with the most power. It goes to the one who understands the game… and has the nerve to play it with purpose.