This is a spiritual attack on humanity. All religions around the world have warned against these “evil principalities” or “archons, rulers of this material world. Their number one tool is deception and because of that humanity has no idea what they look like.
But once we begin to study and understand these evils, we can begin to fight them!
This is why I write so much about the spiritual because by understanding that first, we understand material reality much better and understand things like wars, technology, and the impacts on life and future lives.
As Niall McLaren's excellent "Biochemical Model" [https://substack.com/@niallmclaren] argues, the potential for desire of dominance comes from a naturally occurring chemical in the human body, that if not treated as socially-undesirable, can and likely will affect humanity's development.
The enemy is not really "Out There", it is in all of us.
People who think we can just "Eliminate psychopaths and all will be well", are simply laying the groundwork for the next generation of psycho/sociopathology.
There are many examples in the animal kingdom where collaboration and cooperation among species has a very high survival value. Even inter-species cooperation - such as bees and flowers - have survival value for both.
This natural evolutionary fact is often overlooked and ignored in the Neo-Darwinistic view that life will only thrive with competition and the motivation to "dominate". In fact, it can be argued just the opposite is true with humanity - that the reason why humans as a species have become as successful as we have - is because we learned to develop civilizations based on cooperative enterprises and living by a set of agreed upon rules and more importantly regulations. Without these rules and regulations, human civilization would be impossible.
We can in fact limit criminal behavior and marginalize psychopaths. It's called having a working Justice system and Representative Government - and a set of fair rules we can all live by and follow. It's about establishing a common good - instead of a Darwinian based society built on serving a handful of obscenely rich, sociopathic billionaires.
Fortunately, it's called "NEO-Darwinism", because there's no actual physical scientific basis for its claims, Darwin despised the group too, AFAIK.
Evolution is real, as real as time itself, but it was in most cases driven considerably more by cooperation than competition - although it also play a necessary part.
Our social structures and systems MUST rein in these greedy psychopathic billionaires.
Well, I think scientifically the jury is still out if "Time" even exists.
And Evolution - apparently evolutionary biology is going through a bit of revolutionary re-thinking right now as well. Since the scientific theory of slow random undirected mutational change does not provide a workable explanation for the immense rapid explosion of a wide variety of complex multicellular organisms during the Cambrian period of the Paleozoic Era (which should be impossible given the short period of time it occurred). Note: this isn't proof of a God - but that the current dominate evolutionary scientific Darwinian model needs to be revised into something better.
I might suggest that the punctuated equilibria, discussed, and developed by Steven J. Gould, and others, some 30 or more years ago, is a correction, much needed one might add, to the theory of evolution.
Yes, but it's still "Evolution" as such, and unlike so many others - coke-head Freud fx - Darwin hardly thought his was going to be the last word on the matter.
Don't think the Xian evolution-rejectionists like pE any more than Darwin, lmao!
Completely agree with everything you've raised there as well. I pondered before saying "is real", because "is" can be a seriously problematic word.
I'm not opposed to ideas of 'Intelligent Design', although reject the childish xian interpretations of this considerably older idea than the roman cult.
It's interesting how biology and physics are now tackling what seems to underly the reality we experience: "Information". Information is critical in how a quantum system interacts, and how a biological system develops. And what is information? Is it physical? Is it energy? What organizes it? Where does it come from?
You’re right, and wrong. Cooperation is an excellent comment on its desirability, but so is the Darwinian state of a Survival of the Fittest condition.
And so ‘competition, as well as cooperation , are both significant players in nature. It’s the competitive nature that has to be reigned in, and our cooperative nature unleashed…
In nature, as a species, we do what nature commands , making survival a priority . The sooner we can see ourselves as we are, maybe we can change our outcome… and that’s a big maybe.
I believe the Nature of the psyche (consciousness) is motivated by more than just survival. There are many different energies/complexes operating within consciousness - some are naturally teleological.
I disagree. The first priority of life is self-realization. The unconscious well knows the cycle of life, and even knows beforehand when a human being is about to die. Old age and death are as important to life - as is birth and youth.
I also disagree with the reductive materialist assumption that consciousness ceases to exist at death - and I base my beliefs on the last 30+ years of research (worldwide) of legitimate scientific work in Near-Death studies - which very much appear to indicate consciousness is more fundamental than is assumed by evolutionary biologists today. Therefore, death itself is likely just a cycle for consciousness - and meaningful. Note: I am not basing my opinion on a theology - but on scientific research.
And also: I could be wrong, but it is my opinion at the moment. heh.
It isn't a spiritual attack ON humanity. It's a spiritual attack BY humanity - against ourselves.
It's comforting to blame unseen evil forces, as if we're living in Star Wars. But the truth is far less convenient. Human history is a long record of oppression, cruelty, conquest, genocide, and atrocity. For tens of thousands of years, we've inflicted unimaginable suffering on one another without needing demons to make us do it.
This isn't some sudden corruption of our nature. It's a pattern we've repeated throughout our existence, amplified by every new tool we've invented. The same impulses that fueled ancient massacres now wield industrial power.
The greatest threat to humanity has always been humanity. And unless we confront that reality instead of projecting it onto mythical enemies, we'll keep doing what we've always done - until we've burned this planet to the ground.
That's sweet, but it isn't "evil" we're fighting. This is not s marvel superhero movie. We are fighting a very mundane earthly socioeconomic class and the socioeconomic system that birthed and maintains that class. Capitalism and Imperialism benefit a small group of people. Those systems, those people are now the enemy of mankind, not bielzebub.
That group is largely made up of sociopaths. It’s not evil like in the movies lol but it’s evil in terms of harm a human and group of humans perpetuate. These people literally create public policy that kills thousands. It’s definitely a form of evil
Don't get me wrong, they are certainly "evil" as a class. We definitely agree on that. Nonetheless, I don't like the term as it tends to mythologize what is a pressing material socioeconomic problem that has a very clear solution. But when we think of evil it's sort as some ethereal thing that just exists. These people do evil to further a very definite class goal.
The gift of "discernment" may come to you, amongst others, if you seek Divine Guidance with the intention to be a conduit ofDivine Harmony into our world.
Divine Guidance feels like compassion and wisdom, not "winning". That's a different "guidance".
If you're running an old winblows instead, try out linux mint from a USB - you don't have to install it, it can run from the usb perfectly fine, and then you can see if you can click the likies from that. :)
Exactly why rules and regulations are fundamental to having a free, civilized society. Without them - we would be living in a hellscape run by the obscenely rich - (which, we're almost there, come to think of it).
Every oligarch, every billionaire, every tyrant, every fascist was once a child. It’s the society in which the child grows up that steers the course.
To be well adjusted in a sick society implies to also become sick. And 12,000 nuclear weapons aimed at our collective heads has to be the ultimate sign that all is not well in the human mind.
This is an old debate: the nature versus nurture argument. And I would say what a man/woman becomes is a mixture of both. Forces that develop a life come from within internally, and without externally. Personally, I believe the internal forces are of far greater in potency than external - but it is my opinion based on studying analytical psychology now for decades.
I believe International laws serve a purpose. And the very reason why we are now in such dire straits is precisely because we have abandoned International laws - not because we have abided by them.
For example, the ancient Greeks were wise in abiding by Zeus's laws - because without treating others like you would be treated - society became sick and barbaric.
Lawlessness and lack of agreed upon rules (and regulations) is detrimental to civilization and to human prosperity.
There is no debate as to whether or not thousands of nuclear warheads are aimed at our collective heads.
Maybe one question that needs answers is WHY this is so, in spite of the MAD scenarios associated with their existence.
Even though w most humans would be dead within 24 hours after a full scale nuclear exchange, finding anyone who would even talk about it is like looking for Santa under a tree.
Yet, here we are talking about everything under the sun, except a catastrophe just waiting for our stupidity to be demonstrated. Nuclear war, according to the Doomsday Clock attendees, could occur 85 seconds from now.
International laws mean nothing if you don’t address the reasons why they are made. Just ask D.J. Trump if laws mean anything.
That's the insulting part. Of course we are apes (All animals can talk, there's nothing special about that. It's just the apes have decided only their speech is "intelligent"), and we can make and wear clothing.
There's nothing wrong with that, it's simply biological and technological fact.
We are not "JUST" that though, anymore than gorillas etc are "just" apes either.
If we had people and systems in place that actually prioritized the well-being of people and planet we could be living such great lives on a healing planet.
We could have the best lives, societies and cultures ever. We could have everyone housed, fed and well-educated, becoming our best selves. We could have restored rivers, lakes, forests, and ecosystems.
Instead we're finding better ways of killing each other, destroying the planet and getting more crappy stuff we don't need.
Were we, humanity, to redirect our thoughts, speech and actions toward Learning, Growing, Healing, and Contributing, this could starve our addictive fears, ignorance, and delusions. This would also call forth the Age of Intuition, in which reason and intellect become the servants and relinquish the role of master.
The only problem...well A problem with this is that when people are well-fed and don't have to work as much for that full stomach, they seem directly inclined to jealousy and other behaviors inimical to comity. I think that may be human nature. Maybe need to channel that toward the utopian fantasy.
I think we're fed an ugly story about human nature. When I think of every day life and the way people generally treat each other, I have faith in the goodness of ordinary people.
You have faith because, for the most part, human nature has been re-directed. You wanna see human nature before it is redirected? Let 2 year olds interact without adult supervision teaching them how best to get along. The biggest and/or least inhibited about hitting other children will run the room.
I think it's been redirected too, Mike, but in the opposite way.
Have you seen this article about an authentic 'Lord of the Flies' situation? I think it shows us what our human nature is really like, as opposed to the way it's portrayed in movies and popular culture.
What's crazy is so many wage slaves have been brain washed into believing life has to be this way, that self-centered greed is the only way a civilization can grow. Americans have been subjected to half a century of indoctrination of the Horatio Alger myth, and the myth they live in a meritocracy. That if they just get rid of the rules and regulations - get rid of any kind of government, and live like lawless criminals, or return to living like Barbarians - everyone will prosper! It's bloody nuts.
This is the perfect example of brain rot via laziness and arrogance. I hate anything 'read' by an AI voice. I stop listening. I can't find meaning in the words read by technology, the same goes for videos or music or writing...the words may be understandable but the meaning does not resonate in the same way a human would read or write or speak. I do appreciate, everyday, that your essays are read by Tim Foley. It is true and a real voice that brings the words, the message (whether or not one agrees) to connect us to a core knowledge that a human speaks to a human.
We allowed Dystopia and we are getting just that. Here in the US, most of the people I know are Democrats that will not speak to me because I have been calling out their BS and utter hypocrisy for years now - they are not interested = so this is what we get.
Yet, this lesser evilism takes us to the same dead end - we've been down this road before. Lesser evilism asked democrats to vote for Harris - I want no part of this madness.
I believe you are one of 100’s of millions of American citizens who feel the same. The only thing that will change are the faces, NOT the policies. Zionists will do everything to keep the status quo in favour of israeli policies and direction of zionist foreign policy …
Martin - the population of the US is approximately 347 million. The Zionists own the US political system; they do not care what we think - they will do whatever they want to do and our political system will support their decisions. We are rather funked- bent over and provide our own lubrication for the screwing..
To much information. Leaves some really unpleasant images in my mind. Though back to the point, yes you are right. But no one should accept this as their fate, NO one.
And we're right back on the same track yet again. All we hear now is just how terrible and fascistic Trump is (which is true, the guy is a fascist pig). Trump is on his way out, and the Democrats will return to power. But what will they do when they get back in power? Same old do-nothing shit.
Their record or rather their agenda has been set in stone; so unless democratic House and Senate members are replaced with non “paid-up” zionists, in a little over 2 years from now, trumpstein will be gone and the democrats will once again fall in love with zionism and the evil monsters within its ruling elite. And to top it off, Russophobia will be back on steroids.
The Dems will throw us some breadcrumbs - which will be glorified as being on the side of We the People. But Bernie Sanders will continue to vote yes on more money for the MIC - like he always has, the deep state will continue to surveil all Americans at will - and even though Universal Healthcare now exists in 32 out of 33 of the wealthiest countries in the world - the Dems will insist Universal Healthcare is to complicated and expensive to implement.
The reality is sinking in. The democrats will maintain the same dirction, full steam ahead to self destruct. It’s whether the other half of American society will wake up or just continue drinking the koolaid!
I agree, lethargy and inaction has brought us all to where we are heading today. However, people hoped the future, the future of their dreams, would somehow become a utopia, rather than a dystopia, that is one of the main premises for our lives and the lives of our children and grandchildren.
I would be satisfied with saving the world from climate catastrophe which would mean stopping wars, stopping capitalism, stopping power mongering. If someone wants to be the best at something, I don't care as long as that does not entail polluting the air, water and earth. All those who are dominating and grabbing everything are still going to expire with the rest of the world that they have destroyed in their quest for dominance.
The sad 😢 part is that it would have been so much easier to do it right than to do it the way we did, with fascism and exploitation and's lies and propaganda all around. Living in cooperation is so much easier than living in competition.
Heck I've seen it in my own span of my lifetime. It was much easier when I was younger: to buy a home, to buy a car ... to find a well paying job. To feel safer going to the market and buying hamburger that won't make you sick. To not being worried about being scammed. To not being pulled over randomly by some ICE agent in your car and shot to death. 40-50 years ago, life was easier.
The ethos of greed and self-serving competition as a virtue has turned the US into a wasteland.
People need to start prepping, food, water, warm clothes for a winter without household heating. It’s that dire I’m afraid. Of course, all by design of the Oligarchs.
The worst kind of war, worse than military, technological, economical. A spiritual war.
Nobody said it was going to be easy to take down a 10k year old ancient evil perpetuating cannibalism, destroying the planet, the food, unstoppable blood lust, death cults, ritual child sacrifice and abuse, entire countries and regions becoming sacrificial altars, all in the name of extending life, or searching for the elixir of eternal life or trying to become gods.
Grotesque people and practices have kept humanity back for centuries. Benefits for the few at the expense of the many. Privatise the gains, socialise the losses. The plebs can't do anything....or so they thought.
We still can get to where we would have been.....will the masses wake up?
“It could have been so good”” it can still be good. Correct….
The power of our number is not the solution, it is the problem. They are not the problem, WE are. The sooner we look in our mirrors, the sooner we can change what we see. If not, dystopia is here to stay.
We need not do much "building a better world", as we can recognize and APPRECIATE the bountiful and merciful creation divinely bestowed upon us. This requires the stripping away of the delusions, false values, misconceptions, low desires, FEAR, and self-absorption that veil us from what is eternally and lovingly given. Shall we be the recipients?
I wonder if we missed our chance after WW II. I'm 82, so my parents were of the generation that came out of WW II expecting a bit more out of life than pre-WW II offered ordinary working people. The oligarchs noticed this demand and, having seen what happened in Russia (1917) and China (1949), decided that they'd share a bit, build a middle class and split the working class from the more financially, physically, and mentally vulnerable. What if the working class had said, "we will not be split into groups and we will not abandon the more vulnerable, we want true equality". The oligarchs would have refused and the working class could have revolted. They could have said, "universal health care, welfare, and the vote are not enough, we want it all". We'd likely have that world of which Caitlin speaks.
Yes. James has an excellent analysis on many topics. We can tell he is a very smart person. James speaks the truth rather than the truth we want to hear.
This is a spiritual attack on humanity. All religions around the world have warned against these “evil principalities” or “archons, rulers of this material world. Their number one tool is deception and because of that humanity has no idea what they look like.
But once we begin to study and understand these evils, we can begin to fight them!
This is why I write so much about the spiritual because by understanding that first, we understand material reality much better and understand things like wars, technology, and the impacts on life and future lives.
This enemy is what I call the deadening and here’s a guide I put together to bring anyone up to speed: https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/humanity-vs-the-deadening-the-complete
The good news is, once we see them for what they are, we can eliminate them from our lives and individually, at the very least, live in paradise.
As Niall McLaren's excellent "Biochemical Model" [https://substack.com/@niallmclaren] argues, the potential for desire of dominance comes from a naturally occurring chemical in the human body, that if not treated as socially-undesirable, can and likely will affect humanity's development.
The enemy is not really "Out There", it is in all of us.
People who think we can just "Eliminate psychopaths and all will be well", are simply laying the groundwork for the next generation of psycho/sociopathology.
There are many examples in the animal kingdom where collaboration and cooperation among species has a very high survival value. Even inter-species cooperation - such as bees and flowers - have survival value for both.
This natural evolutionary fact is often overlooked and ignored in the Neo-Darwinistic view that life will only thrive with competition and the motivation to "dominate". In fact, it can be argued just the opposite is true with humanity - that the reason why humans as a species have become as successful as we have - is because we learned to develop civilizations based on cooperative enterprises and living by a set of agreed upon rules and more importantly regulations. Without these rules and regulations, human civilization would be impossible.
We can in fact limit criminal behavior and marginalize psychopaths. It's called having a working Justice system and Representative Government - and a set of fair rules we can all live by and follow. It's about establishing a common good - instead of a Darwinian based society built on serving a handful of obscenely rich, sociopathic billionaires.
100%.
Fortunately, it's called "NEO-Darwinism", because there's no actual physical scientific basis for its claims, Darwin despised the group too, AFAIK.
Evolution is real, as real as time itself, but it was in most cases driven considerably more by cooperation than competition - although it also play a necessary part.
Our social structures and systems MUST rein in these greedy psychopathic billionaires.
Well, I think scientifically the jury is still out if "Time" even exists.
And Evolution - apparently evolutionary biology is going through a bit of revolutionary re-thinking right now as well. Since the scientific theory of slow random undirected mutational change does not provide a workable explanation for the immense rapid explosion of a wide variety of complex multicellular organisms during the Cambrian period of the Paleozoic Era (which should be impossible given the short period of time it occurred). Note: this isn't proof of a God - but that the current dominate evolutionary scientific Darwinian model needs to be revised into something better.
I might suggest that the punctuated equilibria, discussed, and developed by Steven J. Gould, and others, some 30 or more years ago, is a correction, much needed one might add, to the theory of evolution.
Yes, but it's still "Evolution" as such, and unlike so many others - coke-head Freud fx - Darwin hardly thought his was going to be the last word on the matter.
Don't think the Xian evolution-rejectionists like pE any more than Darwin, lmao!
You got it! First things first, as in look in a mirror, identify what needs change, then change. If you don’t have a mirror, buy one.
Most draconian rules are made by the 99%!
But on the other side of the coin: criminals and sociopathic billionaires want no rules at all (to apply to them)!
Completely agree with everything you've raised there as well. I pondered before saying "is real", because "is" can be a seriously problematic word.
I'm not opposed to ideas of 'Intelligent Design', although reject the childish xian interpretations of this considerably older idea than the roman cult.
It's interesting how biology and physics are now tackling what seems to underly the reality we experience: "Information". Information is critical in how a quantum system interacts, and how a biological system develops. And what is information? Is it physical? Is it energy? What organizes it? Where does it come from?
You’re right, and wrong. Cooperation is an excellent comment on its desirability, but so is the Darwinian state of a Survival of the Fittest condition.
And so ‘competition, as well as cooperation , are both significant players in nature. It’s the competitive nature that has to be reigned in, and our cooperative nature unleashed…
In nature, as a species, we do what nature commands , making survival a priority . The sooner we can see ourselves as we are, maybe we can change our outcome… and that’s a big maybe.
I believe the Nature of the psyche (consciousness) is motivated by more than just survival. There are many different energies/complexes operating within consciousness - some are naturally teleological.
The first priority in life is to survive. If an organism doesn’t survive, then all other issues become irrelevant.
While I agree that there are many other different energies/complexes, none of them matter if you are not alive.
I disagree. The first priority of life is self-realization. The unconscious well knows the cycle of life, and even knows beforehand when a human being is about to die. Old age and death are as important to life - as is birth and youth.
I also disagree with the reductive materialist assumption that consciousness ceases to exist at death - and I base my beliefs on the last 30+ years of research (worldwide) of legitimate scientific work in Near-Death studies - which very much appear to indicate consciousness is more fundamental than is assumed by evolutionary biologists today. Therefore, death itself is likely just a cycle for consciousness - and meaningful. Note: I am not basing my opinion on a theology - but on scientific research.
And also: I could be wrong, but it is my opinion at the moment. heh.
Gnuneo,
“ The enemy is not really out there, it is in all of us”
Bingo!
It isn't a spiritual attack ON humanity. It's a spiritual attack BY humanity - against ourselves.
It's comforting to blame unseen evil forces, as if we're living in Star Wars. But the truth is far less convenient. Human history is a long record of oppression, cruelty, conquest, genocide, and atrocity. For tens of thousands of years, we've inflicted unimaginable suffering on one another without needing demons to make us do it.
This isn't some sudden corruption of our nature. It's a pattern we've repeated throughout our existence, amplified by every new tool we've invented. The same impulses that fueled ancient massacres now wield industrial power.
The greatest threat to humanity has always been humanity. And unless we confront that reality instead of projecting it onto mythical enemies, we'll keep doing what we've always done - until we've burned this planet to the ground.
That's sweet, but it isn't "evil" we're fighting. This is not s marvel superhero movie. We are fighting a very mundane earthly socioeconomic class and the socioeconomic system that birthed and maintains that class. Capitalism and Imperialism benefit a small group of people. Those systems, those people are now the enemy of mankind, not bielzebub.
That group is largely made up of sociopaths. It’s not evil like in the movies lol but it’s evil in terms of harm a human and group of humans perpetuate. These people literally create public policy that kills thousands. It’s definitely a form of evil
Don't get me wrong, they are certainly "evil" as a class. We definitely agree on that. Nonetheless, I don't like the term as it tends to mythologize what is a pressing material socioeconomic problem that has a very clear solution. But when we think of evil it's sort as some ethereal thing that just exists. These people do evil to further a very definite class goal.
Peace, Frankie.
The gift of "discernment" may come to you, amongst others, if you seek Divine Guidance with the intention to be a conduit ofDivine Harmony into our world.
Divine Guidance feels like compassion and wisdom, not "winning". That's a different "guidance".
My old computer prevents my "liking" comments on substack, so I will say I appreciate and aspire to align with your commentary.
That's odd, Ron. Presumably you're running a modern OS like a linux variant for an old PC? They should absolutely be able to 'like'.
Have you installed some ad-blockers (Like every sensible person has), and turned on "Prevent likes and other widgets" when you set it up?
If you're running an old winblows instead, try out linux mint from a USB - you don't have to install it, it can run from the usb perfectly fine, and then you can see if you can click the likies from that. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlxSMpUFxeo
If that works, and you don't find Mint intimidating... well, why stick with Microsoft surveillance?
My computer is an old I-Mac. I am not knowledgable enough to answer you inquiries.
Does it look like The Jetsons? That old? ;-}
Ooh, don't know macs, sorry. Guess just have to post like comments then, but at least it's more civilised than just a click!
“Their number one tool is deception” Nope!
OUR number one tool is deception. The enemy is not Them, it’s us, as in you and me.
Exactly why rules and regulations are fundamental to having a free, civilized society. Without them - we would be living in a hellscape run by the obscenely rich - (which, we're almost there, come to think of it).
Every oligarch, every billionaire, every tyrant, every fascist was once a child. It’s the society in which the child grows up that steers the course.
To be well adjusted in a sick society implies to also become sick. And 12,000 nuclear weapons aimed at our collective heads has to be the ultimate sign that all is not well in the human mind.
This is an old debate: the nature versus nurture argument. And I would say what a man/woman becomes is a mixture of both. Forces that develop a life come from within internally, and without externally. Personally, I believe the internal forces are of far greater in potency than external - but it is my opinion based on studying analytical psychology now for decades.
I believe International laws serve a purpose. And the very reason why we are now in such dire straits is precisely because we have abandoned International laws - not because we have abided by them.
For example, the ancient Greeks were wise in abiding by Zeus's laws - because without treating others like you would be treated - society became sick and barbaric.
Lawlessness and lack of agreed upon rules (and regulations) is detrimental to civilization and to human prosperity.
There is no debate as to whether or not thousands of nuclear warheads are aimed at our collective heads.
Maybe one question that needs answers is WHY this is so, in spite of the MAD scenarios associated with their existence.
Even though w most humans would be dead within 24 hours after a full scale nuclear exchange, finding anyone who would even talk about it is like looking for Santa under a tree.
Yet, here we are talking about everything under the sun, except a catastrophe just waiting for our stupidity to be demonstrated. Nuclear war, according to the Doomsday Clock attendees, could occur 85 seconds from now.
International laws mean nothing if you don’t address the reasons why they are made. Just ask D.J. Trump if laws mean anything.
A Law is only as important as its prosecution. If there's no one to implement punishment for law-breakers, then the Law is meaningless.
The Western Empires made sure that International Law is toothless when it comes to them.
Couldn't agree more!
Maybe it's a lesson humankind needs to learn? That we either collaborate as a species or go extinct.
In fighting the multiple evils you ignore the cause of it all:
https://peterwebster.substack.com/p/methyl-isocyanate
Most people are just talking apes who can wear clothes.
"just"?!?
That's the insulting part. Of course we are apes (All animals can talk, there's nothing special about that. It's just the apes have decided only their speech is "intelligent"), and we can make and wear clothing.
There's nothing wrong with that, it's simply biological and technological fact.
We are not "JUST" that though, anymore than gorillas etc are "just" apes either.
I refuse to accept that's all we are! We can do better.
Most? Present company excepted, I suppose...
I think about this all the time too.
If we had people and systems in place that actually prioritized the well-being of people and planet we could be living such great lives on a healing planet.
We could have the best lives, societies and cultures ever. We could have everyone housed, fed and well-educated, becoming our best selves. We could have restored rivers, lakes, forests, and ecosystems.
Instead we're finding better ways of killing each other, destroying the planet and getting more crappy stuff we don't need.
WTF?
Were we, humanity, to redirect our thoughts, speech and actions toward Learning, Growing, Healing, and Contributing, this could starve our addictive fears, ignorance, and delusions. This would also call forth the Age of Intuition, in which reason and intellect become the servants and relinquish the role of master.
The only problem...well A problem with this is that when people are well-fed and don't have to work as much for that full stomach, they seem directly inclined to jealousy and other behaviors inimical to comity. I think that may be human nature. Maybe need to channel that toward the utopian fantasy.
I think we're fed an ugly story about human nature. When I think of every day life and the way people generally treat each other, I have faith in the goodness of ordinary people.
You have faith because, for the most part, human nature has been re-directed. You wanna see human nature before it is redirected? Let 2 year olds interact without adult supervision teaching them how best to get along. The biggest and/or least inhibited about hitting other children will run the room.
I think it's been redirected too, Mike, but in the opposite way.
Have you seen this article about an authentic 'Lord of the Flies' situation? I think it shows us what our human nature is really like, as opposed to the way it's portrayed in movies and popular culture.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/09/the-real-lord-of-the-flies-what-happened-when-six-boys-were-shipwrecked-for-15-months
This should help build that utopia.
https://youtu.be/B5_yZ5EJ01M?si=yR68XXOgClkY2JED
Yes,but this state of affairs suits the rich and powerful just fine.
Cue up the Team D Squealers....
What's crazy is so many wage slaves have been brain washed into believing life has to be this way, that self-centered greed is the only way a civilization can grow. Americans have been subjected to half a century of indoctrination of the Horatio Alger myth, and the myth they live in a meritocracy. That if they just get rid of the rules and regulations - get rid of any kind of government, and live like lawless criminals, or return to living like Barbarians - everyone will prosper! It's bloody nuts.
I'm voting for Max Headroom 2026. Off to listen to "Volunteers for America" by the Jefferson Airplane. Free Palestine and we will be free.
This is the perfect example of brain rot via laziness and arrogance. I hate anything 'read' by an AI voice. I stop listening. I can't find meaning in the words read by technology, the same goes for videos or music or writing...the words may be understandable but the meaning does not resonate in the same way a human would read or write or speak. I do appreciate, everyday, that your essays are read by Tim Foley. It is true and a real voice that brings the words, the message (whether or not one agrees) to connect us to a core knowledge that a human speaks to a human.
"We" wanted Utopia instead they gave us Dystopia.
We allowed Dystopia and we are getting just that. Here in the US, most of the people I know are Democrats that will not speak to me because I have been calling out their BS and utter hypocrisy for years now - they are not interested = so this is what we get.
Red fascism vs. Blue fascism.
Exactly - Known to all as the “uni-party”.
The slightly more aware democrats and liberals rationalize it as lesser evilism.
Yet, this lesser evilism takes us to the same dead end - we've been down this road before. Lesser evilism asked democrats to vote for Harris - I want no part of this madness.
I believe you are one of 100’s of millions of American citizens who feel the same. The only thing that will change are the faces, NOT the policies. Zionists will do everything to keep the status quo in favour of israeli policies and direction of zionist foreign policy …
Martin - the population of the US is approximately 347 million. The Zionists own the US political system; they do not care what we think - they will do whatever they want to do and our political system will support their decisions. We are rather funked- bent over and provide our own lubrication for the screwing..
To much information. Leaves some really unpleasant images in my mind. Though back to the point, yes you are right. But no one should accept this as their fate, NO one.
And we're right back on the same track yet again. All we hear now is just how terrible and fascistic Trump is (which is true, the guy is a fascist pig). Trump is on his way out, and the Democrats will return to power. But what will they do when they get back in power? Same old do-nothing shit.
It used to be do nothing. Now the Ds are actively making it worse. They bombed the Nordstreem pipeline. And so forth.
Their record or rather their agenda has been set in stone; so unless democratic House and Senate members are replaced with non “paid-up” zionists, in a little over 2 years from now, trumpstein will be gone and the democrats will once again fall in love with zionism and the evil monsters within its ruling elite. And to top it off, Russophobia will be back on steroids.
The policies will remain the same. The U.S. is run by the uni-party!
The Dems will throw us some breadcrumbs - which will be glorified as being on the side of We the People. But Bernie Sanders will continue to vote yes on more money for the MIC - like he always has, the deep state will continue to surveil all Americans at will - and even though Universal Healthcare now exists in 32 out of 33 of the wealthiest countries in the world - the Dems will insist Universal Healthcare is to complicated and expensive to implement.
Peasants! Be grateful for your crumbs.
The reality is sinking in. The democrats will maintain the same dirction, full steam ahead to self destruct. It’s whether the other half of American society will wake up or just continue drinking the koolaid!
I agree, lethargy and inaction has brought us all to where we are heading today. However, people hoped the future, the future of their dreams, would somehow become a utopia, rather than a dystopia, that is one of the main premises for our lives and the lives of our children and grandchildren.
Hope into one hand & shit into the other - guess which one you’ll fill up first
That my friend is stating the obvious; the overpowering stench has long replaced the sweet smell of hope (utopia).
I would be satisfied with saving the world from climate catastrophe which would mean stopping wars, stopping capitalism, stopping power mongering. If someone wants to be the best at something, I don't care as long as that does not entail polluting the air, water and earth. All those who are dominating and grabbing everything are still going to expire with the rest of the world that they have destroyed in their quest for dominance.
The sad 😢 part is that it would have been so much easier to do it right than to do it the way we did, with fascism and exploitation and's lies and propaganda all around. Living in cooperation is so much easier than living in competition.
Heck I've seen it in my own span of my lifetime. It was much easier when I was younger: to buy a home, to buy a car ... to find a well paying job. To feel safer going to the market and buying hamburger that won't make you sick. To not being worried about being scammed. To not being pulled over randomly by some ICE agent in your car and shot to death. 40-50 years ago, life was easier.
The ethos of greed and self-serving competition as a virtue has turned the US into a wasteland.
People need to start prepping, food, water, warm clothes for a winter without household heating. It’s that dire I’m afraid. Of course, all by design of the Oligarchs.
The worst kind of war, worse than military, technological, economical. A spiritual war.
Nobody said it was going to be easy to take down a 10k year old ancient evil perpetuating cannibalism, destroying the planet, the food, unstoppable blood lust, death cults, ritual child sacrifice and abuse, entire countries and regions becoming sacrificial altars, all in the name of extending life, or searching for the elixir of eternal life or trying to become gods.
Grotesque people and practices have kept humanity back for centuries. Benefits for the few at the expense of the many. Privatise the gains, socialise the losses. The plebs can't do anything....or so they thought.
We still can get to where we would have been.....will the masses wake up?
Reading this just made me sad.
“It could have been so good”” it can still be good. Correct….
The power of our number is not the solution, it is the problem. They are not the problem, WE are. The sooner we look in our mirrors, the sooner we can change what we see. If not, dystopia is here to stay.
We need not do much "building a better world", as we can recognize and APPRECIATE the bountiful and merciful creation divinely bestowed upon us. This requires the stripping away of the delusions, false values, misconceptions, low desires, FEAR, and self-absorption that veil us from what is eternally and lovingly given. Shall we be the recipients?
I wonder if we missed our chance after WW II. I'm 82, so my parents were of the generation that came out of WW II expecting a bit more out of life than pre-WW II offered ordinary working people. The oligarchs noticed this demand and, having seen what happened in Russia (1917) and China (1949), decided that they'd share a bit, build a middle class and split the working class from the more financially, physically, and mentally vulnerable. What if the working class had said, "we will not be split into groups and we will not abandon the more vulnerable, we want true equality". The oligarchs would have refused and the working class could have revolted. They could have said, "universal health care, welfare, and the vote are not enough, we want it all". We'd likely have that world of which Caitlin speaks.
Here you go, how to build that utopia:
https://youtu.be/B5_yZ5EJ01M?si=yR68XXOgClkY2JED
I really like James Li's reporting.
Yes. James has an excellent analysis on many topics. We can tell he is a very smart person. James speaks the truth rather than the truth we want to hear.
The point is if you want a well-behaved society you can have one if we are all surveilled and forced to be well-behaved.
Also, I cannot remember who said it, AN ARMED SOCIETY IS A POLITE SOCIETY.