We agree in a lot of things most of the time. Even when we don’t, the next productive thing is to find our least common denominators and work with that.
Now, we can see clearer the flaws of the systems in place. The COVID-19 pandemic have revealed how people in charge respond to the challenges that have arisen. And they are not for the greater good of the 99%.
What we share here is not a solution, but more of an observation.
The main topic here has something to do with our moral compass and where our true north points. It has something to do with being frugal with our way of life and settling with what we have. Something about simple living, or at least an attempt to approach that until we become independent of the Grid. That doesn’t mean though that we dream of complete detachment from society, no, far from it. Our dream is held by hope stemming from the collective goodwill of neighbors, sustaining each other through a local network of kindness. We keep hearing of this “minimalism” and we’d like to try our hands on it, if only for an episode.
Right now, the fear of contracting the disease limits our mobility. That is changing, though, as institutions relax regulations, to “jump start” the dying economy. Yet many of us don’t have the luxury of hopping into a car and drive around, away from Problems that insult the hippocampus. Here and Now we are stuck; here, in its passive heating, in its mess that we are both familiar and not. Here, also would be a great starting point to check the choices we have made so far.
It won’t be easy to escape. Everything is linked to a monetary value, even independence which, according to some conservative estimates, should be equal to 25 times your annual salary. If you can’t grow your income and/or reduce your expenses in this oppressive economy, good luck. It’s on you (boomers and hustlers alike say) to go on with the grind. At least you will be glorified as a hustler in a society that rewards overwork with little pay. You will be an essential worker who will receive gratitude in different languages, tunes, and media… but what about your actual welfare? “We are dumbed and numbed to care,” is the likely inference, but we are trying our best to change that.
Today, people require modern ways to curate stuff, and the methods and processes involved in the implementation need to be as quick as how their attention shifts, lest their tastes tiptoed off-tangent, missing the beat.
Opinions matter, but in echo chambers they become loud yet stale. Strong personalities excommunicate dissenters, and vice versa.
At the age of information, mis- and disinformation rise and grow as if an expected natural reaction to oppose facts. Fact-checking becomes an inconvenient chore not in spite of, but because of the wealth of ideas. So long as practical knowledge requires testing and commissioning, it becomes less accessible; and whoever has the resources can manipulate data and present them as whatever insight to those who have no time to see if any shit stews within.
Not unless we remain patient and vigilant, the system will continue.
And yet, we remain incoherent. Like this one. Agents of chaos, we are not, and yet there are strains of it in our postures. Molecules comprise atoms, but to be Something, molecules need to federate. Bonds will have to form.
Reading theory in general is good. At best, it will change your mind about some things. At worst, it will strengthen your arguments against it.
Capitalism cannot exist if all life on earth is to continue. There is a growing anti-capitalist sentiment in the world today, particularly among young people. Even self-ascribed democrats have been pushing the dogma of democratic socialism. It’s better than nothing, even if abolition of the state isn’t on the menu yet. A socialist state is better than a capitalist one.
But, if we’re to believe in the purest form of democracy, then do we consider that today’s vox populi prefers socialist state? We believe this much: we will continue to oppose the state.
Yes, it will all be worth it. Even if we’re no longer there to experience Liberation. Even if “opposing” means looking after one another when no one else won’t do it properly for us. The changes between economic systems will be very gradual to come into total effect. We are in this for the long haul.