A Tale of Two Futures

Which one do we want?

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Picture this:

You wake up in the morning to the sound of a robin singing, and leisurely get out of bed before easing into your morning routine. You work four days a week, six hours a day. You go for a stroll outside in a beautiful landscape of buildings that blend into the natural environment. You run into friends and chat on the street corner. You make your way to the tool lending library to pick up a seldom needed garden tool that you’ll use today. Afterwards you’ll return it. You’re happy that war has become obsolete, and that the focus now is on healing, restoring and learning. There are plenty of beautifully maintained public spaces, and parents get plenty of help with their children, their aging parents and their own life transitions. There is abundant quality healthcare and it’s free. Drug and alcohol abuse and crime rates have gone way down, mostly because life is so enjoyable and nourishing the way it is.

That’s one kind of future. Alternatively, here’s another:

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You wake up in the morning to the sound of air raid sirens. You’re hungry, and worried about unpaid bills and the housing insecurity you’re experiencing. Exhausted, you’re late for your first job, with two others in the wings. Yet you’re barely scraping by. Environmental disasters, wars and a divided society all take their toll on your mental health. But the ruling class now has a pool of cheap labour at home and in other countries. This class believes it’s superior to others, and is willing to lie, cheat, steal, kill and organize coups and colour revolutions because of their sense of entitlement and supremacy. They live lives of extreme opulence and indulgence.

Which scenario sounds more like your life? Which would you prefer? What kind of future do you want to leave to future generations?

When a pickpocket meets a saint all they see are their pockets

In the second description, everything other than the ruling class is reduced to resources: cheap labour, natural resources, countries to exploit, etc.

The people who benefit from this are actually the impoverished. When the intrinsic value of life is invisible to us — the lovely person, nature’s beauty and wonder, cultures and their wisdom and grandeur — look at what they’re missing. And they probably don’t even know it.

It’s sad, but it doesn’t mean we should allow ourselves and our world to be objectified for their benefit. Their’s is a path to mass suicide, and I for one love life and want to keep it going.

I think one of the problems the rest of us have is believing the class that has exploited others to the point of actually committing genocide in plain sight are going to negotiate in good faith.

Look at the recent bombing of Iran by Israel. Iran was blindsided. They expected a military confrontation, but not days before another session of peace negotiations. Here’s an excellent analysis of the situation between Pepe Escobar and Nima Alkorshid. It’s long, but very informative. I sometimes wonder if leaders of Iran, Russia and China actually have any faith in these negotiations or if they’re just trying to postpone the inevitable military strikes.

To me, this looks like a struggle between the sociopaths and the strategic, and I’m on the side of the strategizers. Something Russia, China and Iran have in common is a commitment to BRICS. Here’s an excerpt from the BRICS Membership Expansion Guiding Principles document.

BRICS has developed and evolved in the spirit of mutual respect and understanding, equality, solidarity, openness, inclusiveness, and consensus, mutually beneficial cooperation and closer people-to-people exchanges. BRICS members states have developed shared values and common interests that underlie mutually beneficial cooperation and a shared vision for a better world. All decisions are taken by BRICS member states in full consultation and consensus.

It sounds like something out of Star Trek, doesn’t it?

This organization is a huge threat to the west, since it would bring about the first scenario in this post.

Why is it a threat? Well, it keeps expanding and increasing trade between members and partners. It now makes up over half the world’s population and 44% of global GDP according to this article from geopoliticaleconomy.com. In other words, this organization is a threat to western hegemony and the American dollar.

I’d like to see Canada join BRICS, but that won’t happen anytime soon, especially when we consider our neighbour to the south.

But still, there are some things we can do to change the global trajectory when we live in western nations.

Community building has never been more important. We don’t know what surprises our economies or environment has in store for us, but we need to find ways of being food secure and ensuring people have roofs over their heads and the care they need. And western governments, who are beholden to their donors, aren’t going to do that for us, at least without major pressure, so we have to figure these things out. There’s a wonderful site called Shareable that gives us all kinds of community building tools. I hope you’ll take a peek.

Another thing we need to do is get accurate information about what is going on in our world. Western countries are considered to be the most propagandized in the world, so we need to question everything: our mainstream media, movies, video games, social media — what are the messages they’re trying to get across and are they accurate? What have we absorbed that we now consider common sense? Discernment is our best friend these days. Here are some of my favourite online sources of news and analysis.

We also need to be aware of timing and what we’re not hearing about while something shocking is taking up the headlines. For example, what’s going on in Gaza right now as our attention is on Iran and Israel? There are still starving people being bombed and needing food and aid. Are they getting it? Are they still being murdered? We can’t forget about them.

And there are a few things we can do geopolitcally.

We can familiarize ourselves with the report from the Brookings Institution that Brian Berletic shared and heighten the next steps laid out. If enough of us reveal western strategies before they’re implemented, it could take the wind out of NATO’s sails, might force them to change strategies, and will give the accurate narrative credibility. What would have happened if, before Israel’s attack on Iran, a chorus of voices said “So now is the USA going to pretend to negotiate peace, and then back Israel as it attacks Iran with American made weapons?” Could this attack have prevented it? We should try it with the next step and see what happens.

We can also wear symbols of resistance to make our support visible and let others know they’re not alone. Pins, keffiyehs, watermelon themed clothing, peace signs — they all convey an important message.

And, if we’re able, we can join a march to Gaza, or in support of Gaza. Here’s an interesting and inspiring interview with an organizer of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign. So let’s get to a march, or hop on a boat and head to Gaza with food and aid.

And there’s so much we can do in our day to day lives to actually live these values.

I once talked with someone who had gone through the change from an apartheid government to one that was more democratic and asked what advice he had for those kinds of times. He said, “Keep your relationships clean.” That’s always been an important value of mine, so it was nice to have that affirmed. It’s key to a good life and to community building. Trust is the foundation of any meaningful relationship.

There’s also the way we interact with our material world. What do we buy? Where do we put our money? What do we grow, make, share and get for free?

I consider this an art form. I bank at a credit union which keeps money in the community instead of the military industrial complex and other organizations I’d rather not fund. I belong to co-ops which empower my community. I make my own personal care products which is easy, fun and means I know exactly what goes into them. And they don’t come in plastic bottles. It’s also a hit to the fossil fuel industry that makes all that plastic, and to the corporations that product the chemicals that go into these products, and reduces the profits of the corporations that produce and sell them. And, of course, we can boycott countries whose actions we object to.

I patronize free boxes, second hand stores, yard sales and farmers’ markets. Not only does it save money but it’s so much fun! I can’t even imagine paying the astronomical amounts of money for new clothes or so many other goods. I love to repurpose things. And the funny thing is, when people come to my home, they always compliment me on how comfortable and nice it is. Quality is never compromised.

One of the biggest things we can do is keep the first vision in mind and see how we can align with it. What are the opportunities? Where are the pressure points that will bring about change? How can we get there together? And how can we prevent those who don’t share this vision from stealing it from us?

I want that brighter future, that Star Trek kind of life. I want to honour my commitment to our ancestors who did so much for us, and keep the promise I silently made to kids, grandkids and all of life. Not only will getting there be fun, but I think it will make us better, stronger and wiser people.

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I love the BDS campaign and the effect it’s having on Israel’s economy.

Here's an excellent list of products from Israel: https://boycott.thewitness.news/browse/1

Here's a way to help others not in your bubble to boycott Israel: https://www.cjpme.org/stickies_2024_en

And here's where you can support Palestine by buying a keffiyeh: https://www.hirbawi.ps/