Sigh.
“So, with Obama you'll get clearly better management of the
hateful Empire with slightly better treatment of the down-and-outers, while
with Romney you'll get the comfort politics of white supremacy along with clumsy,
even disastrous management of the Empire, which will be dismissed from public
view by magical thinking and denial, and you'll get a slightly better chance
for the collapse of the Empire and the outbreak of the revolution. Less blood
and stronger Empire versus more blood and weaker Empire: take your pick.
No blood and no Empire is not an allowed choice. That is why
you can vote. “(4)
No matter who “wins”, Neoliberalism(8) wins.
Always.
Always.
Privatise the Profits; Socialise the Costs.
The Bewildered Herd blithely swallows the Blue Pill(Matrix),and play their Role in the Charade, because they “Know not what they do”…The Knowledge, and Critical Thinking Skills, necessary to change anything, are denied to them…
Also denied to them, is the Time for Reflection…should they , somehow, gain the requisite Knowledge and Ability to Think.
The Bewildered Herd blithely swallows the Blue Pill(Matrix),and play their Role in the Charade, because they “Know not what they do”…The Knowledge, and Critical Thinking Skills, necessary to change anything, are denied to them…
Also denied to them, is the Time for Reflection…should they , somehow, gain the requisite Knowledge and Ability to Think.
I am amazed, when I reflect that since the advent of the World
Wide Web, the People have become more divided, more Gullible and more prone to
Magical Thinking…with all of this Information, available at our fingertips, We
have become Less Informed.
“The elite succeeded in granting personhood to their
corporate dollars. Any call for a level playing field -- the American ideal
that anyone can make it if they just work hard enough -- has been rebranded as
Socialism.”(2)
Of course, the Prohibition on Marx, et alia, has been in
place for a lot longer than that….and this is hardly surprising.
We fight among ourselves, over which Corpse-Puppet will “Lead” Us…and never see the Stage where all of this takes place.
Of course, I prefer the Obama Puppet Show, to that of Mitt…but I’m under no illusions that things will Fundamentally Change for the better. I am angry that Our “Choices” have been whittled down so.
I’m frustrated that the vast majority of my Countrymen seem so incapable of understanding what I’m even talking about, here.
“In Roman times, it really didn't matter to the patricians who sponsored the
spectacles in the Circus Maximus which particular charioteer won a given race
and gained the favor of the masses, Massala or Ben-Hur, because after the
spectacle their class would still be in control of the economic engine and
military power of the imperial center. The public is allowed a multitude of
choices on trivial matters, and little if any choice on the issues of
fundamental importance.”(3)We fight among ourselves, over which Corpse-Puppet will “Lead” Us…and never see the Stage where all of this takes place.
Of course, I prefer the Obama Puppet Show, to that of Mitt…but I’m under no illusions that things will Fundamentally Change for the better. I am angry that Our “Choices” have been whittled down so.
I’m frustrated that the vast majority of my Countrymen seem so incapable of understanding what I’m even talking about, here.
No matter who “wins”…We Lose. It comes down to a “choice”, between Sooner, or Later…as well, I think, How We enter the Decline.
Given enough Time(which We do Not have), Reason and Compassion could, conceivably, Win…in the end…keep pressing on the Irrational and Hateful Right Wing Crazy Revolution, and it will eventually Fail.
Then, We could begin working on what passes for the Left…until, at some future point, We could have a Real choice.
“If health care and education were free, then anybody could achieve access to the success class of the permanently employed solely on the basis of merit, and that would vastly increase the competition for each such job. The net effect of such a meritocracy would be the diffusion of wealth out of the formerly inheritance-insured population, and a leveling out of family prosperity nationally. That might relieve much anxiety for those currently in the economic basement, but it would also end the exclusivity of inheritance insurance.”(3)
….But We do Not have Time.
Virtually All of the Political and Economic Changes and Challenges, of the last 40 years, are a response to the Reality…the one waiting all around us, that the Way We Do Things, is Over.
It is the Elite’s response…to hold on to Power and Privilege, for as long as possible…to shore it up, so that After…they can retain their “Rightful Place”, at the tippy-top of Human Civilisation.
““More complex societies are costlier to maintain than simpler ones and require higher support levels per capita,” Tainter writes. The investments required to maintain an overly complex system become too costly, and these investments yield declining returns. The elites, in a desperate effort to maintain their own levels of consumption and preserve the system that empowers them, through repression and austerity measures squeeze the masses harder and harder until the edifice collapses. This collapse leaves behind decentralized, autonomous pockets of human communities.”(7)
I still hold out a tiny Hope that there’s still time to at least begin a necessary Re-Ordering…but that Hope fades, every day.
Decentralisation, Democratisation, of Everything, is in order.
This is not possible, without an awareness of the Reality of our current situation…Hydraulic Despotism, in a World of Shrinking Resources, and Insane Population Growth. It is also Not Possible, with a continuance of the Secular Mythos of Neoliberalism…”World Without End…”
…which is merely a new word for “Fascism”…which was the new word for “Feudalism”…ad infinitum, back to Our first attempts at Civilisation.
“Heinberg says this is our fate. The quality of our lives will depend on the quality of our communities. If communal structures are strong we will be able to endure. If they are weak we will succumb to the bleakness. It is important that these structures be set in place before the onset of the crisis, he says. This means starting to “know your neighbors.” It means setting up food banks and farmers’ markets. It means establishing a local currency, carpooling, creating clothing exchanges, establishing cooperative housing, growing gardens, raising chickens and buying local. It is the matrix of neighbors, family and friends, Heinberg says, that will provide “our refuge and our opportunity to build anew.””(7)
I’ll enjoy the Political Circus Maximus, for now…I’ll Vote Obama, because he represents at least a Kinder , Gentler Empire…and a Slower, relatively more Compassionate Decline.
It is likely the best that we can hope for: a little more Time, to attempt to overcome the Divisions…
“The inevitable decline in resources to support societal complexity will generate a centrifugal force,” Heinberg said. “It will break up existing economic and governmental power structures. It will unleash a battle for diminishing resources. This battle will see conflicts erupt between nations and within nations. Localism will soon be our fate. It will also be our strategy for survival. Learning practical skills, becoming more self-sufficient, forming bonds of trust with our neighbors will determine the quality of our lives and the lives of our children.””(7)
Got Garden?
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