Going Forward, Broad Strokes

Maybe it's time to look at values and principles instead of details

As Israel commits genocide against Gaza, while western leaders provide Israel with money, military equipment and diplomatic cover, while mainstream media tells us that it’s anti-semitic to object to this and portrays Israel as the victim, while our international institutions are rendered powerless to deal with this genocide, what does it look like when we just cut the crap?

To me it looks like a very spoiled elite that is used to bullying other nations, preaching a rules based order with rules that only apply to those they subjugate, with a press that intentionally tries to mislead us. And it looks like they’re losing power fast, and flailing as they fall.

What do we do when we live in these countries whose leaders and press mislead us as they commit and enable atrocities? It’s become a cliche to say that the mask is now off.

We can see the global economic system for the heartless, soulless, predatory beast that it is. And we can see that those who support it are blinded by colonialist and imperialist attitudes that make them believe they’re entitled to do what they’re doing. They’ve been doing this for hundreds of years, to people in countries that have the resources they want.

The words ‘democracy’ and ‘human rights’ ring hollow coming out of their mouths. We know that those words are code for invasion, coups, wars, and power grabs in the countries they want something from or whose population voted in ways they don’t like.

How are the countries invaded or ‘helped’ by the global north doing now? Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Ukraine — weren’t they all supposed to be about human rights or being liberated or getting to join NATO?

As we witness this, how are we as people in the global north to respond?

I don’t know specifically, but I can think of some broad principles to keep in mind as we go forward.

We need to make sure we get our facts straight. We need to find trusted news sources, and question mainstream narratives. They say the first casualty of war is truth, and that’s evident right now. I skim some mainstream media to see what the public is being fed, but I rely on sources that have shown themselves over time to be trustworthy. Some of them are Consortium News, the Narwhal, The Breach, Al Jazeera, Telesur, and people I follow on social media like Naomi Klein, Avi Lewis, Aaron Maté, Dimitri Lascaris, Rachel Blevins, Yves Engler, Ralph Nader, and many others. I hope you’ll share your trusted sources in the comments.

We need to realize that the powers that be don’t consider the rest of us in their deliberations. Look at the economic systems we’re living under. The homelessness, the insane cost of living, our eroding healthcare and education systems, and so much else that affects our overall quality of life are by design. These are not systems that value or serve people like us.

These days if we have have a roof over our head and good food to eat, we’re pretty lucky. Seeing that these systems don’t support our well-being, we need to find ways of depending less upon them; things like gardening, wild crafting, and making our own personal care products for example. I make a point of buying local, organically grown, fairly traded and second hand whenever possible. I bank at a credit union which supports communities and not the military industrial complex. I avoid chainstores or restaurants, and boycott Israel. I’m looking into getting off the grid.

As our systems begin to crumble, conspiracy theories become more dominant. When we encounter them, we need to ask ourselves, who benefits from this belief? Claims that climate change is a hoax? Pretty handy for the fossil fuel industry that’s fighting tooth and nail to keep raking in enormous profits at the expense of life on earth. Do these theories blame immigrants, or people of different colours, orientations or religions for our problems? Scapegoating people is a great way to redirect and deflect the anger that should go towards the system that is harming us all. What about getting big government out of the way? The alternative is more privatization which puts even money into the hands of the few and worsens the living conditions of the general public. What we need instead is democratic control of our governments, and governance that functions in our best interests, and deals fairly and peacefully with other nations. These theories don’t come out of nowhere, and when we look at who benefits, it gives us a good idea where they started.

To be strong, we need to build community. I asked someone I know who went through the transition from an apartheid state in South Africa what advice he had for people during these kinds of transitions. He said to keep your relationships clean. That makes a lot of sense to me. Being honest and caring is, in many ways, its own reward, and helps to create a place of belonging. We need strong bonds to hold us together during these chaotic times.

Joining groups that contribute to a community well-being strengthens our connection with others. Whether it’s singing in a choir, joining a community group, organizing an action, or volunteering where there’s a genuine need, it all helps. And we need to do our best to not be divided despite our differences. It’s encouraging to see the upsurge of organized labour, and we need to support unions. Solidarity is crucial at this point in history.

As actions to address our corrosive system become apparent, we need to evaluate them and, if worthwhile, take part, and let others know about them. Lots of different actions will eventually become apparent, so we can choose what resonates with us, and what seems most effective.

Right now, globally, we’re on a perilous road. We need to figure out how to stop the genocide and senseless wars in the rest of the world, empower our international court system so that it can address these acts of aggression, and then survive the inevitable turmoil that will ensue as the systems we live under crumble.

They are not sustainable. We need to help each other to ease our way into the future we want, designing it as we go, where we can, and as we’re able.