The Intellectual's Realization

Hello, this is not a request or an apology, neither is it a demand, for why should I demand the rights which are given to all by the mere fact of their existence. My name is Atlas. I am the man who has given you life, who has provided you the means for your own happiness, yet I am denied the very privileges which I bestow. You force me to produce, force me to become stronger and stronger, yet you sap my strength without a second's thought. You weigh me down with your multiplying numbers, you build sky scrapers which tear my back and leave me bloody, you wage war upon my shoulders and tramp upon my neck. However, I have born my burden for thousands of years without complaint.
You have claimed that I owe you because I am more powerful than you, that I must put my own joy and ambitions behind me for the good of mankind. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need!" you say. You claim that I must put the group above my individuality, that I must sacrifice my life for yours. I must toil so you can relax, work so you can play, bleed so you can thrive, cry so you can laugh. You tell me it is honorable to sacrifice, that my spirit of brotherhood will bring me happiness.
Yet herein lies the problem. I see no brotherhood here. In your one hand you would use the promise of fraternity and equality as a streaming banner leading the way towards a brighter future, and in the other hand you would use them as a sword with which to subdue those who pursue their individuality. This brotherhood is nothing more than a tool which allows the weak to subdue the strong, the lazy to reign in the productive, the evil to control the good.
But you have failed. I know now that without me, you cannot function. It is my sanction, the sanction of the victim, which gives you strength. But this victim will sanction your oppression no longer. Never again will I support the people who deny me my life, for you have no right to put your life above mine. I will finally pursue my own happiness and leave you to your own pursuit. I will embrace the freedom that was granted me by my very existence. I will end my suffering. I will not shoulder this burden anymore.
I will shrug.