At least "they" said that, which, to me, at least leaves room for people who don't believe that life is a "haphazard accident", to be free to believe otherwise.
Whether a person believes that our lives have meaning, or not; that God exists, or not and/or follows a religion, or not; I personally feel that there are essential beliefs that are necessary to us all.
I agree with those people, who consider the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to be an essential and profoundly guiding document. It begins by declaring that every human life has "inherent dignity" and that we all have equal and inalienable rights; all of which form the foundation of peace, freedom and justice in the world.
Our grandparents (or recent ancestors) wrote this and other history changing documents, to help future generations, after the World Wars.
As a result of their sincerity, I feel that we have the tools and many countries have the political structures, to maintain a peaceful, free and just world; but I feel that We, the People need do what we can (or, do more than we have been doing) to make sure that, for example, democracy works as it is supposed to, rather than to serve to maintain control, by an international elite; which has become, too evidently, what is frequently, now happening. (Which is not democracy, in any case).
I feel that what Caitlin Johnstone is advocating, is one way of increasing awareness and I think that there are additionally, many other, also non violent ways in which people can help each other to keep remembering the importance of respecting our human rights.
Unfortunately, current events show us that some of them are created "more equal" ... Especially The Chosen Ones amongst them (This is NOT about self-respecting, genuine people of Jewish faith !! )
I grew up in a small rural village. When people were horrible, it really stood out. When other kids threw horse buns at the Dutch kid that just moved there, some of us knew that was wrong. We had beauty all around us. The streams, the deer, the birds, the trees. People were not always beautiful though. Aside from the horse bun throwers, some of the older boys sped through town in their cars screaming obscenities from the window. I think those must be the people that grew up to be our so called "leaders". They bullied their way into power by pretending they represented "human nature".
Very possibly , Susan . There is nothing , normal , or moral about the way these so called ‘leaders’ have sold their souls . I wonder , is this out of fear , of losing the power they have , or is it because they have been bought . ? It doesn’t matter the reason , we have to face the reality that if there is going to be change, then it’s going to come from ordinary folk like us , who will not be manipulated into accepting that it’s ok to starve , bomb , deprive human beings of food, shelter , medical care and finally death , in order for them to satisfy their lust for other’s resources. This has been the norm. for centuries. Let’s make sure it’s never going to be the normal , ever again .
I think what you describe has been happening for centuries, or at least for a long time but I don't think of it as "normal" behaviour. Normal is a bit difficult to get to, really. Patriarchal thinking is considered normal by many. I see patriarchy as being a main problem with how our world operates. It leads to all kinds of feelings of supremacy based on gender, skin colour, religion etc. I think that it would be better to forget normal and focus on moral, logical, kind, respectful. I don't like the word normal much. To me it implies limitations. I prefer diversity.
I'm tired of people saying, "That's just the way it is," so I'm denormalizing it by telling them, "As long as you believe that, it will continue to be true."
This can be statement used to dismiss the possibility of changing the status quo, in which case it is appalling. It can also be used to get people to stop whining about the unfairness of the world and take responsibility for one’s own actions. You can’t take effective action until you recognize and accept the truth of the situation in which you find yourself. It is what it is. You can complain about it, you can pretend it’s different (which is easy and comforting), or you can accept realty and do something about it.
"Our job... is to find new and creative ways to help people see that these things we’ve been conditioned to accept as normal are actually shocking and unacceptable."
It's what I strive to do everyday. Some will take exception, but I'll keep plugging away at de-normalizing the horrors the best I can. We can't afford not to.
More and more I'm convinced that people don't recognize their role in the state of the world. As long as the average American can be fat and happy, they'd just as soon look the other way while the empire does whatever it bloody well pleases. The bottom line is and always has been profit and comfort. So what if we kill the world for it.
Brilliant article Caitlin and you have tapped into exactly where my thoughts are .
On one hand we have these Leaders of Governments and Powerful Agencies, who are pulling away from the ordinary citizens, they are supposed to be representing. They seem like a totally different breed .
The one saving grace of this terrible time , when real life , is like an everlasting nightmare , is that the more atrocities they try to normalise , the more we , realise how insane they have became.
Those of us who have stayed the course , will never accept that what they are doing is right and despite the ‘power’ they believe they have over us , we can’t be bought and we don’t fear their manipulation. We see so many people, sticking it to them and this is the path we must stay on .
Well said, Caitlin. This is particularly important to me living in a place (the occupied north of Ireland) where colonial occupation has been normalised and people silenced by successfully selling them normalisation as "peace."
I returned to writing because that's how I express my de-normalising stance best. My voice and role might be small, but if I made just one person rethink the illusions we've been fed our entire lives, I did crucial work — and I know I already affected more than one.
It is not enough to exhort. We must indicate solutions. To eliminate poverty, injustice and inequality, we must redistribute wealth equally and move from competition to cooperation. To stop the massacres in Palestine, we must stop those who wanted them. To eliminate the nuclear risk, we must "isolate" the United States of America and remove power from the controllers of money. To return to the limits of nature's sustainability, we must eliminate excess and waste. To eliminate despotism (evident or disguised), we must move from a formal democracy to an effective democracy. To establish permanent universal peace, we must overcome national states and participate in a new political system with a parliament and a government directly elected and on equal terms by all the inhabitants of the planet. To change the hierarchical structure, we must "marginalize" those at the top of the pyramid. To make the truth of the facts known, we must free the operators of information.
We must NOT be afraid to die for the betterment of this planet.
We require going all John Brown on DC. Let’s pump that septic tank once and for all.
Sound violent? I will beg the question, how have peaceful protests worked out? It was very different in the Vietnam era: we had groups like the Weather Underground and the Black Panthers. Where are such groups today?
It’s even more of a travesty considering how well-armed Amerikkkan society is. Why aren’t we putting that advantage to good use?
Annette Stover, I feel sorry that you haven't grasped what really is happening in Venezuela.
As usual the US empire is destabilising Venezuela - by way of sanctions, freezing its assets, meddling in its elections, supporting a violent opposition to bring about a fascist coup and regime change like they tried before - all in aid of grabbing Venezuela's resources such as oil.
If you have been reading Caitlin, your awareness antenna should be up by now.
"But one thing we have that the empire propagandists do not is creativity, and the ability to capture the human imagination. We can use these things to find ways of making the evils of the empire stand out against the background of normalization, and to help people envision a world without those completely unnecessary evils."
I honestly think this is one of the reasons why AI is being pushed so aggressively onto us since it can't be truly creative and encourages us not to be creative in turn.
Already said this: Make protests outside all mainstream media...........make them think hard about what they are doing. Complicit in genocide and many other things.
IF you bring down the media first there is a chance.
Caitlin won’t mind anyone disagreeing with her . It’s funny but I seem to learn more from others who don’t necessarily agree with me . It makes me think again about my views .✌️
First, I need to respond to the statement that "we've never seen a healthy world" so we don't respond with a normal level of outrage. This is not entirely true. I'm a little older than Caitlin and Tim, I think--68--and I remember a time of hope as I came of age in the early seventies. But I also remember thinking that one reason the Civil Rights movement was so successful was that white youth of half a generation earlier had been successfully lied to--they'd grown up believing we lived in a great nation that stood for freedom and democracy, liberty and justice for all. Then they found out that black people in the South were denied voting rights, shunted to lower quality schools, even drinking fountains--and they had enough belief in the system that they rose up righteously to CORRECT this wrong. A full generation later, youth grew up watching the Watergate hearings and the battles with anti-Vietnam War protesters, four shot at Kent State (and two at a black college, tho that was never publicized). The world in 1960 was already the ugly corrupt thing it is now, but it could be successfully sanitized. By the 1980s, this was no longer so easy, and the Powers That Be found that cynicism could work as well to keep the people passive as whitewashing. Another example: in 2003 15 million people all over the world demonstrated against the imminent US assault on Iraq. It had zero effect, the invasion rolled out on schedule. Before that, I often took a six hour drive to Washington DC for antiwar protests--after that I figured it wasn't worth the drive, or the emissions, just to be one more person at a protest that would have no effect.
Second, I think you'd do well to emphasize that generating sufficient outrage for action lies not so much in pointing out how ugly, violent, unjust, depraved, and suicidal the world order is, but that it it DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY--and we need to DEPICT the alternative, not just talk about it in remote, abstract, colorless words. People would be much more likely to take the (short-term) risks of rising up if they believed Another World is Possible.
True Relation
True relation
Needs no messiah
Just millions of people
Learning together
They’ll build no temples
But they do have a shrine
This beautiful planet Earth
Home to humans kind
Blind ambition
A thing of the past
New community created
Designed to last
There’ll be no popes
There’ll be no kings
With mutual understanding
No need for these things
There will be great teachers
But no need for a throne
The leaders of this movement
Content to work from home
The answers are all around us
They’re just not obvious
The great majority
Kept oblivious
Yet slowly there’s awakening
Slowly all can learn
That life’s great triumphs
Are never what we own
They’re how we raise our families
Connect with our peers
How we treat the weakest souls
Who’ve known little more than tears
Revert to the Stone Age??
I hear the cynics say
To create such utopia
Give everything away!!
Not sure what it would look like
Nothing important needs to go
Just hatred and greed
And untamed ego
Kindness the main mantra
Compassion and empathy
As we let go of the hold
Grief’s had on you and me
We’ll tread easy on the planet
Food and most goods locally
Keep waste to minimum
End consumerist folly
I’m sure it won’t be easy
I’m sure many will resist
Contentment of early responders
An inspiration to the rest
There won’t be other chances
We don’t really have a choice
There is no planet next
So let’s hear your voice
Raised up and overwhelming
A clarion of love
For every living thing
The mighty peace dove
❤️🙏❤️
Stephen Treloar May,2023.
There was no God they said,
Just an haphazard accident,
In a vastly big firmament,
A Big Bang until dead.
At least "they" said that, which, to me, at least leaves room for people who don't believe that life is a "haphazard accident", to be free to believe otherwise.
Whether a person believes that our lives have meaning, or not; that God exists, or not and/or follows a religion, or not; I personally feel that there are essential beliefs that are necessary to us all.
I agree with those people, who consider the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to be an essential and profoundly guiding document. It begins by declaring that every human life has "inherent dignity" and that we all have equal and inalienable rights; all of which form the foundation of peace, freedom and justice in the world.
Our grandparents (or recent ancestors) wrote this and other history changing documents, to help future generations, after the World Wars.
As a result of their sincerity, I feel that we have the tools and many countries have the political structures, to maintain a peaceful, free and just world; but I feel that We, the People need do what we can (or, do more than we have been doing) to make sure that, for example, democracy works as it is supposed to, rather than to serve to maintain control, by an international elite; which has become, too evidently, what is frequently, now happening. (Which is not democracy, in any case).
I feel that what Caitlin Johnstone is advocating, is one way of increasing awareness and I think that there are additionally, many other, also non violent ways in which people can help each other to keep remembering the importance of respecting our human rights.
Well done, Caitlin and Tim. Thank you.
I also support fundamental Human Rights, whether God given or not. I believe all men are created equal.
BINGO !!! 👍👍👍
Unfortunately, current events show us that some of them are created "more equal" ... Especially The Chosen Ones amongst them (This is NOT about self-respecting, genuine people of Jewish faith !! )
do you accept Freedom of Associations as a right ?
not the way you define it
If you support mandated associations between adults, just admit it
MANDATED ASSOCIATIONs between adults is considered COERCION
the ability of one to associate with whom one pleases as opposed to whom you mandate or the state mandates
Considerations are made for child versus adult
Thank you
I grew up in a small rural village. When people were horrible, it really stood out. When other kids threw horse buns at the Dutch kid that just moved there, some of us knew that was wrong. We had beauty all around us. The streams, the deer, the birds, the trees. People were not always beautiful though. Aside from the horse bun throwers, some of the older boys sped through town in their cars screaming obscenities from the window. I think those must be the people that grew up to be our so called "leaders". They bullied their way into power by pretending they represented "human nature".
Very possibly , Susan . There is nothing , normal , or moral about the way these so called ‘leaders’ have sold their souls . I wonder , is this out of fear , of losing the power they have , or is it because they have been bought . ? It doesn’t matter the reason , we have to face the reality that if there is going to be change, then it’s going to come from ordinary folk like us , who will not be manipulated into accepting that it’s ok to starve , bomb , deprive human beings of food, shelter , medical care and finally death , in order for them to satisfy their lust for other’s resources. This has been the norm. for centuries. Let’s make sure it’s never going to be the normal , ever again .
I think what you describe has been happening for centuries, or at least for a long time but I don't think of it as "normal" behaviour. Normal is a bit difficult to get to, really. Patriarchal thinking is considered normal by many. I see patriarchy as being a main problem with how our world operates. It leads to all kinds of feelings of supremacy based on gender, skin colour, religion etc. I think that it would be better to forget normal and focus on moral, logical, kind, respectful. I don't like the word normal much. To me it implies limitations. I prefer diversity.
❤️
"Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely"
You might like this, but you need to read the English subtitles as it is the French (oh all people !!) National Anthem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MQ-SC9bmp4
La Marseilles is the best bar none national anthem I have ever heard. Stirring music and forceful lyrics.
As opposed to our wimpy Star Fucking Spangled Banner.
Hey, all we sing is "God save the King" ... not even to the Country or flag.
But no offense, sick and tired of hearing yours everywhere.
Me too.
I'm tired of people saying, "That's just the way it is," so I'm denormalizing it by telling them, "As long as you believe that, it will continue to be true."
It usually works.
I agree...I loath the statement "it is what it is".
“It is what it is”
This can be statement used to dismiss the possibility of changing the status quo, in which case it is appalling. It can also be used to get people to stop whining about the unfairness of the world and take responsibility for one’s own actions. You can’t take effective action until you recognize and accept the truth of the situation in which you find yourself. It is what it is. You can complain about it, you can pretend it’s different (which is easy and comforting), or you can accept realty and do something about it.
"Our job... is to find new and creative ways to help people see that these things we’ve been conditioned to accept as normal are actually shocking and unacceptable."
It's what I strive to do everyday. Some will take exception, but I'll keep plugging away at de-normalizing the horrors the best I can. We can't afford not to.
Because I need to make
the most of the days, the months,
the years that remain to me
in this crazy, noisy world,
and the best I can do
is turn my screams, my weariness,
my tears into poems, and not forget
or overlook the good in the world.
https://dianeengelhardt.substack.com/p/some-days
More and more I'm convinced that people don't recognize their role in the state of the world. As long as the average American can be fat and happy, they'd just as soon look the other way while the empire does whatever it bloody well pleases. The bottom line is and always has been profit and comfort. So what if we kill the world for it.
Thank you, Caitlin. I needed some hope today.
"Do Something Every Day To Help De-Normalize The Abuses Of The Empire"
Oh my god, Caitlin.
That is so true !!!!!!!!!!!
Brilliant article Caitlin and you have tapped into exactly where my thoughts are .
On one hand we have these Leaders of Governments and Powerful Agencies, who are pulling away from the ordinary citizens, they are supposed to be representing. They seem like a totally different breed .
The one saving grace of this terrible time , when real life , is like an everlasting nightmare , is that the more atrocities they try to normalise , the more we , realise how insane they have became.
Those of us who have stayed the course , will never accept that what they are doing is right and despite the ‘power’ they believe they have over us , we can’t be bought and we don’t fear their manipulation. We see so many people, sticking it to them and this is the path we must stay on .
Well said, Caitlin. This is particularly important to me living in a place (the occupied north of Ireland) where colonial occupation has been normalised and people silenced by successfully selling them normalisation as "peace."
I returned to writing because that's how I express my de-normalising stance best. My voice and role might be small, but if I made just one person rethink the illusions we've been fed our entire lives, I did crucial work — and I know I already affected more than one.
Respect to you Ramona . 🇮🇪🏴✌️
It is not enough to exhort. We must indicate solutions. To eliminate poverty, injustice and inequality, we must redistribute wealth equally and move from competition to cooperation. To stop the massacres in Palestine, we must stop those who wanted them. To eliminate the nuclear risk, we must "isolate" the United States of America and remove power from the controllers of money. To return to the limits of nature's sustainability, we must eliminate excess and waste. To eliminate despotism (evident or disguised), we must move from a formal democracy to an effective democracy. To establish permanent universal peace, we must overcome national states and participate in a new political system with a parliament and a government directly elected and on equal terms by all the inhabitants of the planet. To change the hierarchical structure, we must "marginalize" those at the top of the pyramid. To make the truth of the facts known, we must free the operators of information.
How to do all of this?
You said you should indicate solutions, but all you have done is to name the problems.
HOW to do it?
Revolution, Susan.
We must NOT be afraid to die for the betterment of this planet.
We require going all John Brown on DC. Let’s pump that septic tank once and for all.
Sound violent? I will beg the question, how have peaceful protests worked out? It was very different in the Vietnam era: we had groups like the Weather Underground and the Black Panthers. Where are such groups today?
It’s even more of a travesty considering how well-armed Amerikkkan society is. Why aren’t we putting that advantage to good use?
http://www.holosbank.org/unigov/The%20Plan-En.htm
https://holos-unigov-org.translate.goog/holosbank.com/unigov/Ecco-It.htm?_x_tr_sch=http&_x_tr_sl=it&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=it
Dude socialism is the way to go and is what we need
Annette Stover, I feel sorry that you haven't grasped what really is happening in Venezuela.
As usual the US empire is destabilising Venezuela - by way of sanctions, freezing its assets, meddling in its elections, supporting a violent opposition to bring about a fascist coup and regime change like they tried before - all in aid of grabbing Venezuela's resources such as oil.
If you have been reading Caitlin, your awareness antenna should be up by now.
"But one thing we have that the empire propagandists do not is creativity, and the ability to capture the human imagination. We can use these things to find ways of making the evils of the empire stand out against the background of normalization, and to help people envision a world without those completely unnecessary evils."
I honestly think this is one of the reasons why AI is being pushed so aggressively onto us since it can't be truly creative and encourages us not to be creative in turn.
the first normalization that people must de-normalize is that a COMPUSLORY instituion like The State is necessary for a civilized society
“The state”? Do you support companies owning everything?
The State = Washington DC for the federal state
ALL STATES are compulsory institutions
What goals people pursue with that compoulsion is secondary to the compulsion itself
Societies cannot last under continual COMPULSION by the state as people try to compel them in the right direction
The biggest problem is Propaganda.
Already said this: Make protests outside all mainstream media...........make them think hard about what they are doing. Complicit in genocide and many other things.
IF you bring down the media first there is a chance.
Butif you would rather blame the propaganda rather than the citizens accepting it and acting on it , I understand
Not everyone KNOWS it's propaganda.
I'll be honest.
I am actually bothered by disagreeing with Caitlin
I know how my attitude can affect people which is the last I want with her
Caitlin won’t mind anyone disagreeing with her . It’s funny but I seem to learn more from others who don’t necessarily agree with me . It makes me think again about my views .✌️
but it is certainly their job to not go out and commit actions simply because of what people told them
And I never said informing them of propaganda was wrong.
But placing it as the cause of actual actions is not correct
I would suggest the biggest problem is people accepting that propaganda and then ACTING UPON IT
Very Nice
First, I need to respond to the statement that "we've never seen a healthy world" so we don't respond with a normal level of outrage. This is not entirely true. I'm a little older than Caitlin and Tim, I think--68--and I remember a time of hope as I came of age in the early seventies. But I also remember thinking that one reason the Civil Rights movement was so successful was that white youth of half a generation earlier had been successfully lied to--they'd grown up believing we lived in a great nation that stood for freedom and democracy, liberty and justice for all. Then they found out that black people in the South were denied voting rights, shunted to lower quality schools, even drinking fountains--and they had enough belief in the system that they rose up righteously to CORRECT this wrong. A full generation later, youth grew up watching the Watergate hearings and the battles with anti-Vietnam War protesters, four shot at Kent State (and two at a black college, tho that was never publicized). The world in 1960 was already the ugly corrupt thing it is now, but it could be successfully sanitized. By the 1980s, this was no longer so easy, and the Powers That Be found that cynicism could work as well to keep the people passive as whitewashing. Another example: in 2003 15 million people all over the world demonstrated against the imminent US assault on Iraq. It had zero effect, the invasion rolled out on schedule. Before that, I often took a six hour drive to Washington DC for antiwar protests--after that I figured it wasn't worth the drive, or the emissions, just to be one more person at a protest that would have no effect.
Second, I think you'd do well to emphasize that generating sufficient outrage for action lies not so much in pointing out how ugly, violent, unjust, depraved, and suicidal the world order is, but that it it DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY--and we need to DEPICT the alternative, not just talk about it in remote, abstract, colorless words. People would be much more likely to take the (short-term) risks of rising up if they believed Another World is Possible.
Rather than lists of what to denormalize, I'd much rather see successful examples.
I agree David .✌️