Listen to a reading of this article (reading by Tim Foley): One point I keep trying to drive home here in as many ways as I can is that this is the dystopia we were warned about. The main difference between this mind-controlled dystopia and the fictional dystopias in novels like 1984 is that in 1984 people knew they weren’t living in a free society, whereas in this dystopia the people believe they are free.
Never been into any one religion and I guess I’m only moderately spiritual. However it occurred to me recently that from a spiritual perspective they seem to be after our “Free Will.” That’s quite possibly the most important gift given to us by our God. This is what they covet IMO.
Niemand ist mehr Sklave, als der sich für frei hält, ohne es zu sein. (None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.)
"so they can’t just come out and start imprisoning everyone who spotlights the myriad ways we are enslaved by lies and propaganda" Sure they can, and do. How many of us look close at child porn convictions or do we just assume anyone convicted is a filthy sex criminal and deserves what they get? How many prisons are we blockading for being full of potheads and the mentally ill, or the merely poor? You've got it backwards. They imprison who they like, anyone remotely a threat. We're only free because we're impotent to stop them. The SECOND you say something real, you're instantly a criminal. Criminal conspiracy, incitement, "threatening", "terrorism", you name it. There's a millions ways for them to just throw you away or kill you. 95% of people in American prison didn't even see trial. Are you aware of the plea bargain problem? I really could go on from a dozen different angles. But you get the idea.
"The one advantage to this type of dystopia is that our rulers need to maintain their nice-guy free society image in order to preserve the illusion that we are free, so they can’t just come out and start imprisoning everyone who spotlights the myriad ways we are enslaved by lies and propaganda."
And that's our in to free the populace--the tearing down of the nice-guy free society image our corrupt governments project. More and more are experiencing this for themselves in the West as they find themselves struggling to keep a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs. Perhaps, it's time to write "reverse dystopian" stories to give hope and guidance to the masses who yearn to create a better world. The propaganda and lies can't stand up when the truth and a vision of a truly free world is shared.
The fact is that too many people do know and they're just fine with it so long as they have jobs and things are mostly stable. Multiple quotes come to mind.
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” ― Upton Sinclair, I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked
“John Steinbeck once said that socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” ― Ronald Wright, A Short History of Progress
If you live in a country, where every time a whistleblower shows, that what your government and mainstream media tell you, is a lie? Where your representatives, and your President, don’t represent the majority opinion? Are you living in a democracy?
Brilliant piece! It seems to me that journalists and editors play a particularly crucial role in constructing the propaganda to which Caitlin refers. The Super Bowl distracting attention from the simultaneous Israeli bombing of Rafah offers an especially compelling example. I wrote about that here: https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/why-we-cant-have-nice-things-like
Well said Sister. We who understand have woken up at different times and for for different reasons but those of us who are awake have stayed awake. We have become discouraged; we have become outraged. We have become quiescent for a while, knowing that the powers of the numbers are not there yet. My fondest Hope is that this is the time finally where we realize that we have the power; that our numbers are legion and that we can destroy this dystopia and create a New World that works for everyone. We have but to desire and we know we can do it. My sense is that we have evolved out of the desire for vengeance, revenge and retribution. My deepest desire is that the blood letting of Russia 1917 and beyond, and the horror of the French terror will not be revisited, in a uniquely American way, given that there are more guns in America than people. This is not outside the realm of possibility, and people have thus envisioned the future of Americans society. Those of us who know that love is stronger than death must prevail on others, must entreaty those not so enlightened; must do everything within our spiritual, physical, mental & emotional power to prevent a bloodbath of epic proportions. My sense is that after the crash of the dollar and the rejection of the American Empire, the shame, the complete disastrous imploding, people will take care of one another, and we will learn that that is where our best happiness lies -in one another. Those of us not having learned this lesson will learn it then. This is my fondest hope.
Great advice. Agitate, annoy, astound, disrupt, provoke, enlighten, paint, highlight, point out a disgusting lack of clothing, shake, rattle and roll, whatever it takes to help cut through the fog of lies and illusions.
"We cannot be free until we have used the power of our numbers to shrug off the control of our dystopian overlords, and we’ll never do that as long as a critical majority of us are unable to see how profoundly unfree we really are."
The operative word you use is "shrug"?
Ahh, those shackles are not just mental or spiritual. They are death by ten thousand cuts -- fines, tickets, tolls, demerits, low credit scores, evictions, impoundments, repossessions, lawsuits, convictions, charges, fees, add-ons, surcharges, taxes, triple taxation, jobs, background checks , drug checks, etc., etc.
Shurgs should be STRIKES. With bats, machetes, with muscle, with collective might, withholding work, walking off the job, tax resistence, etc.
But shurgging when the Wailing Wall White House and Rabbi-Poked Investor Class and the Zionist Zyclon B makers have us by not just the short hairs, but by our entire bodies and minds?
Reset through Molotovs?
Little acts of kindness to our communities, alongside little acts of immolation resistence!
I've said it many times: if you ever wondered how life was in 1930-40s Germany - you're living it right now.
Never been into any one religion and I guess I’m only moderately spiritual. However it occurred to me recently that from a spiritual perspective they seem to be after our “Free Will.” That’s quite possibly the most important gift given to us by our God. This is what they covet IMO.
I mean what is “civilian shipping”? The Yemeni are only blockading ships suppling Israeli, to prevent mass murder.
So the EU action is to ENSURE GENOCIDE.
This is pure gaslighting.
Niemand ist mehr Sklave, als der sich für frei hält, ohne es zu sein. (None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.)
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"so they can’t just come out and start imprisoning everyone who spotlights the myriad ways we are enslaved by lies and propaganda" Sure they can, and do. How many of us look close at child porn convictions or do we just assume anyone convicted is a filthy sex criminal and deserves what they get? How many prisons are we blockading for being full of potheads and the mentally ill, or the merely poor? You've got it backwards. They imprison who they like, anyone remotely a threat. We're only free because we're impotent to stop them. The SECOND you say something real, you're instantly a criminal. Criminal conspiracy, incitement, "threatening", "terrorism", you name it. There's a millions ways for them to just throw you away or kill you. 95% of people in American prison didn't even see trial. Are you aware of the plea bargain problem? I really could go on from a dozen different angles. But you get the idea.
"The one advantage to this type of dystopia is that our rulers need to maintain their nice-guy free society image in order to preserve the illusion that we are free, so they can’t just come out and start imprisoning everyone who spotlights the myriad ways we are enslaved by lies and propaganda."
And that's our in to free the populace--the tearing down of the nice-guy free society image our corrupt governments project. More and more are experiencing this for themselves in the West as they find themselves struggling to keep a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs. Perhaps, it's time to write "reverse dystopian" stories to give hope and guidance to the masses who yearn to create a better world. The propaganda and lies can't stand up when the truth and a vision of a truly free world is shared.
The fact is that too many people do know and they're just fine with it so long as they have jobs and things are mostly stable. Multiple quotes come to mind.
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” ― Upton Sinclair, I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked
“John Steinbeck once said that socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” ― Ronald Wright, A Short History of Progress
If you live in a country, where every time a whistleblower shows, that what your government and mainstream media tell you, is a lie? Where your representatives, and your President, don’t represent the majority opinion? Are you living in a democracy?
You are a treasure. Thank you so much!
Brilliant piece! It seems to me that journalists and editors play a particularly crucial role in constructing the propaganda to which Caitlin refers. The Super Bowl distracting attention from the simultaneous Israeli bombing of Rafah offers an especially compelling example. I wrote about that here: https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/why-we-cant-have-nice-things-like
Well said Sister. We who understand have woken up at different times and for for different reasons but those of us who are awake have stayed awake. We have become discouraged; we have become outraged. We have become quiescent for a while, knowing that the powers of the numbers are not there yet. My fondest Hope is that this is the time finally where we realize that we have the power; that our numbers are legion and that we can destroy this dystopia and create a New World that works for everyone. We have but to desire and we know we can do it. My sense is that we have evolved out of the desire for vengeance, revenge and retribution. My deepest desire is that the blood letting of Russia 1917 and beyond, and the horror of the French terror will not be revisited, in a uniquely American way, given that there are more guns in America than people. This is not outside the realm of possibility, and people have thus envisioned the future of Americans society. Those of us who know that love is stronger than death must prevail on others, must entreaty those not so enlightened; must do everything within our spiritual, physical, mental & emotional power to prevent a bloodbath of epic proportions. My sense is that after the crash of the dollar and the rejection of the American Empire, the shame, the complete disastrous imploding, people will take care of one another, and we will learn that that is where our best happiness lies -in one another. Those of us not having learned this lesson will learn it then. This is my fondest hope.
Great advice. Agitate, annoy, astound, disrupt, provoke, enlighten, paint, highlight, point out a disgusting lack of clothing, shake, rattle and roll, whatever it takes to help cut through the fog of lies and illusions.
Just as I was despairing Caitlin came through..... thank you!
I think this is one of your most important and crucial posts.
Spot on. All the weeping and gnashing of dentures about "threats to democracy" has me babbling "what democracy?"
"We cannot be free until we have used the power of our numbers to shrug off the control of our dystopian overlords, and we’ll never do that as long as a critical majority of us are unable to see how profoundly unfree we really are."
The operative word you use is "shrug"?
Ahh, those shackles are not just mental or spiritual. They are death by ten thousand cuts -- fines, tickets, tolls, demerits, low credit scores, evictions, impoundments, repossessions, lawsuits, convictions, charges, fees, add-ons, surcharges, taxes, triple taxation, jobs, background checks , drug checks, etc., etc.
Shurgs should be STRIKES. With bats, machetes, with muscle, with collective might, withholding work, walking off the job, tax resistence, etc.
But shurgging when the Wailing Wall White House and Rabbi-Poked Investor Class and the Zionist Zyclon B makers have us by not just the short hairs, but by our entire bodies and minds?
Reset through Molotovs?
Little acts of kindness to our communities, alongside little acts of immolation resistence!
https://paulokirk.substack.com/p/converso-leibowitz-is-back-on-fucking