Everything you are saying, Caitlin, is true. What I find really difficult to understand is that this earth they are destroying, this air and water they are polluting; this is their earth, water and air too. Could they possibly be so idiotic to really think that they can all head off to Mars after they have destroyed this earth? So on top of being terminally greedy, are they also terminally stupid?
"Could they possibly be so idiotic to really think that they can all head off to Mars after they have destroyed this earth? So on top of being terminally greedy, are they also terminally stupid?"
The owners don't live in the same world we do. It's ironic, but they live in bubbles of splendid isolation - far removed from the realties of the damages and destruction they cause. I believe they do see themselves as masters of the universe; at most they might acknowledge some adverse effects, but would see them as acceptable and certainly not threatening to them. They are amoral monsters.
I just got back from a two week trip to China. I was last in China in 1989. The progress China has made is staggering, and Nanjing compares favourably to anywhere I have visited in the USA or the EU. Nothing and nobody will convince me to be afraid of China. Envious, yes. Afraid, no.
I did suffer an unfortunate bout of food poisoning (Salmonellosis; could have happened anywhere). A day in a hospital in Nanjing, including 4 hours of IV fluids and a prescription for top-shelf antibiotics, cost me about US$70 all up.
Fear is such a terrible thing to be controlled by.
When we can see that the monsters are made up by the ruling class to detract from what they do, we are so much more powerful than when we cower in fear of their made up monsters.
Imperialism is an inevitable phase of capitalism, which, whether private or state-owned, is always based on lies, deception, violence, exploitation of labor, theft, and/or robbery. And its fundamental means are money and the state.
Well-named evils that for the beneficiaries of capitalism are not problems but solutions: war is a profitable business. Homelessness keeps wages depressed, etc.
The deepest inner contradiction of capitalism is that it sees problems for humanity and the ecosystem we depend on as opportunities to make more money. A forest that protects wildlife and sequesters carbon has value only when cut down. The solution for the capitalist is thus intrinsically linked with creating a problem, all of which can be summed up with the equation that a system based on and motivated by perpetual growth in a finite world is bound to fuck things up badly, while those who profit from it hide behind security guards and locked gates, fantasizing of escaping to Mars when the shit hits the fan.
It is precisely at the apex of this contradiction that the movement to change it, to reclaim our evolutionary legacy of cooperation and shareing, arises and whether it succeeds or not depends on what we the people do: we can denounce it as "controlled opposition" or claim it is just "reformism" or just heckle from the sidelines, boosting our virtue in a situation of impotence.............or we can lend a hand. The people united can never be defeated (that is a historical fact) so our chief mission today is to find ways to unite, which means, by definition, uniting with those we once dismissed, ignored, or fought against. So lend a hand or get out of the way, for the times, they are a changin... and while it takes moral outrage to fight, there is in finding others who fight with you and inexpressible joy.
I wonder how long this madness can continue. Mamdani's wins give me hope but I dunno that this can spread to the heartland. There are so many propagandized zombies.
More likely are widespread protests after a blatantly rigged election followed by mass incarceration in highly profitable concentration camps. Or perhaps numerous shootings and deaths.
Right, Patrick. There'll only be elections if dRumpf's backroom boys have 'fixed' them. If they do happen and Orange Rump ain't happy with the results, your last two sentences will have nailed it. His 'Freedom 250' celebrations will be, in truth, 'Fiefdom 250', and there'll be no putting the genie back in the bottle. The ICE brownshirts will be loving it. Happy birthday, USA.
Hey Patrick there are millions more propagandized zombies throughout the land NOT just in the Heartland. And btw the Heartland grows alot of your food! Not this year, though. DROUGHT. But WE will persevere.
"Can’t get money out of politics and stop wealthy oligarchs from using their riches to manipulate western politics to their advantage, because" that IS the System.
Everything you are saying, Caitlin, is true. What I find really difficult to understand is that this earth they are destroying, this air and water they are polluting; this is their earth, water and air too. Could they possibly be so idiotic to really think that they can all head off to Mars after they have destroyed this earth? So on top of being terminally greedy, are they also terminally stupid?
"Could they possibly be so idiotic to really think that they can all head off to Mars after they have destroyed this earth? So on top of being terminally greedy, are they also terminally stupid?"
Yes.
The owners don't live in the same world we do. It's ironic, but they live in bubbles of splendid isolation - far removed from the realties of the damages and destruction they cause. I believe they do see themselves as masters of the universe; at most they might acknowledge some adverse effects, but would see them as acceptable and certainly not threatening to them. They are amoral monsters.
I just got back from a two week trip to China. I was last in China in 1989. The progress China has made is staggering, and Nanjing compares favourably to anywhere I have visited in the USA or the EU. Nothing and nobody will convince me to be afraid of China. Envious, yes. Afraid, no.
I did suffer an unfortunate bout of food poisoning (Salmonellosis; could have happened anywhere). A day in a hospital in Nanjing, including 4 hours of IV fluids and a prescription for top-shelf antibiotics, cost me about US$70 all up.
Fear is such a terrible thing to be controlled by.
When we can see that the monsters are made up by the ruling class to detract from what they do, we are so much more powerful than when we cower in fear of their made up monsters.
Truth
Politics is the art of creating fictitious narratives designed to lead society to the conclusions which cede to the ruling class everything it wants.
In 1905 John Dewey said: "Politics is the shadow cast upon society by big business."
💯 and the current batch of empire managers have turned it into an art form!
Imperialism is an inevitable phase of capitalism, which, whether private or state-owned, is always based on lies, deception, violence, exploitation of labor, theft, and/or robbery. And its fundamental means are money and the state.
Well-named evils that for the beneficiaries of capitalism are not problems but solutions: war is a profitable business. Homelessness keeps wages depressed, etc.
The deepest inner contradiction of capitalism is that it sees problems for humanity and the ecosystem we depend on as opportunities to make more money. A forest that protects wildlife and sequesters carbon has value only when cut down. The solution for the capitalist is thus intrinsically linked with creating a problem, all of which can be summed up with the equation that a system based on and motivated by perpetual growth in a finite world is bound to fuck things up badly, while those who profit from it hide behind security guards and locked gates, fantasizing of escaping to Mars when the shit hits the fan.
It is precisely at the apex of this contradiction that the movement to change it, to reclaim our evolutionary legacy of cooperation and shareing, arises and whether it succeeds or not depends on what we the people do: we can denounce it as "controlled opposition" or claim it is just "reformism" or just heckle from the sidelines, boosting our virtue in a situation of impotence.............or we can lend a hand. The people united can never be defeated (that is a historical fact) so our chief mission today is to find ways to unite, which means, by definition, uniting with those we once dismissed, ignored, or fought against. So lend a hand or get out of the way, for the times, they are a changin... and while it takes moral outrage to fight, there is in finding others who fight with you and inexpressible joy.
But we see them, all right, more of us all the time.
"Western politics is mostly just empire managers making up fake problems to fight so they don’t have to address the real problems."
In brief, "Nothing up my sleeve... Presto, a new fabrication!"
Exactly on the nose about this horrific situation.An abomination!
I wonder how long this madness can continue. Mamdani's wins give me hope but I dunno that this can spread to the heartland. There are so many propagandized zombies.
More likely are widespread protests after a blatantly rigged election followed by mass incarceration in highly profitable concentration camps. Or perhaps numerous shootings and deaths.
Right, Patrick. There'll only be elections if dRumpf's backroom boys have 'fixed' them. If they do happen and Orange Rump ain't happy with the results, your last two sentences will have nailed it. His 'Freedom 250' celebrations will be, in truth, 'Fiefdom 250', and there'll be no putting the genie back in the bottle. The ICE brownshirts will be loving it. Happy birthday, USA.
Hey Patrick there are millions more propagandized zombies throughout the land NOT just in the Heartland. And btw the Heartland grows alot of your food! Not this year, though. DROUGHT. But WE will persevere.
The thing is ANY opposition is real and will be crushed. Blood will flow.
. . . which is quite the commentary on the phraseology heard in British parliamentary tradition, ‘his Majesty’s “official” opposition.
Or, ‘his Majesty’s “Loyal” opposition.’
Opposition is NEVER official because it is NEVER loyal.
The ruling class governs by two means:
1] Narratives.
2] Gun barrels.
Right now, the narratives aren’t doing so well.
Just sickening. It is so uncomfortable to live with all these things. We will prevail however, as it crumbles. We know love, they don't.
"Can’t get money out of politics and stop wealthy oligarchs from using their riches to manipulate western politics to their advantage, because" that IS the System.
Another amazing piece! 🎯