We take bribes, you take bribes. The difference? We don’t waste time hiding it, compadre. It’s all out in the open, like the sun burning through a desert sky. Why bother pretending? This world runs on greased palms, quiet deals in the shadows—you know it, I know it. It’s what keeps this whole chingado mess from collapsing. We face reality. You? Vives en un sueño, playing like everything’s clean.

So tell me, ¿quién es más honesto? The guy who admits the system is a labyrinth of lies, or the one who swears up and down it’s built on justice? Ándale, cuate, you sit in your air-conditioned office, looking at your papers like they mean something. But behind every law, every speech, there’s a man waiting for his cut. You know it. Just like every guy who sweats for his next meal knows it.

We don’t hide behind fancy words or pretend we’re saints. We know the world is built on the backs of people who have to bend, have to hustle just to survive. And you? You act like you’re better, like you’re clean. Pero no eres diferente, güey. You just have nicer curtains to cover it up, while the rest of us are out here, working the grind, playing the game.

At the end of the day, la verdad es muy sencilla. We see the machine for what it is, una chingadera of betrayal and barter, where every man has a price. You think you can escape it? You think you’re above it? Por favor, you’re just another cog in the same rusty wheel, pretending it’s all good while the whole thing keeps turning.

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You know what I do? I compartmentalize. Yeah, that’s right. I don’t get bogged down in all the mess. I keep it neat, keep it separated. You want to stay standing in this world, you better learn to put things in their place. One drawer for the dirt, one for the clean. One for the deals nobody talks about, another for the good ol’ boy smiles. That’s how you survive. You think I got this far by lettin’ it all mix together? Hell no. I compartmentalize.

Pretty soon you end up with a thousand drawers, each one for a different mess. But that’s okay, that’s the way it’s gotta be. You got one for the bribes, one for the lies, one for the promises you ain’t never gonna keep. And when it all gets too heavy, well, you got a bottle sittin’ in the bottom drawer. Take a swig, clear your head, and get back to it. That’s how you keep it together. Booze helps grease the gears when the drawers start stickin’.

Compartmentalize? Hell yeah, that’s the only way to keep your head on straight in a world like this. You gotta divide things up—keep the dirt in one corner, the clean hands in another. Bribes, favors, deals? You toss ’em in a drawer, lock it tight, and put on your best damn suit. Smile for the cameras, shake hands with the folks. That’s just how it’s done. You can’t let one thing spill over into the other, or you’re finished. That ain’t weakness, amigo, that’s survival.

Now, I get it—you think it sounds crooked, like I’m spittin’ lies. But listen, if you don’t compartmentalize, the whole damn thing falls apart. You can’t run a ranch, a business, or a country without splittin’ the necessities from all that idealistic nonsense. You reckon you can live without bending a little? That’s a fine way to end up broke, dead, or forgotten. You take the bribe, make the compromise, but you don’t let it touch who you really are. It’s just part of the game, same as anything else.

You folks talk about integrity like it’s carved in stone, but that ain’t how life works. Integrity ain’t a rock; it’s more like water. It flows, it shifts, it adapts. You don’t, you sink. Now, you call that lyin’ to myself? Fine, call it what you want. I call it doin’ what needs doin’ to keep moving ahead. The grime of one day ain’t gotta stick to the next. You keep your compartments clean, or at least clean enough to make it through.

The world’s a mess, sure, but it ain’t a simple one. You wanna make it through? Better learn to keep those compartments in check, pardner.