How Do We Future Proof Our Hard Won Rights?

We can't afford to lose generational wisdom

We’re up against the most powerful propaganda machine the world has ever known.

When news and entertainment media are concentrated in the hands of the powerful western elite, when online algorithms steer people to the right, what kinds of messaging do you think our kids and grandkids are receiving? Whose stories are being told? Which groups are made to look good or bad?

I just read an article about the Philippines and how the son of a dictator who was toppled in the 1980s is now the new leader of the country, and with similar policies. The history there is being rewritten to make the years his father was in power look like years of progress and not of oppression. How did this history get lost on younger people?

I’ve heard a similar story out of Iran, whose people are also exposed to a lot of western propaganda. Professor Marandi talks about young people influenced by the west taking to the streets earlier this year, seeing the destruction caused by Mossad, CIA, MI6 and their allies who infiltrated the demonstrations, and then feeling remorseful and wanting to help with the resistance to those forces.

In the western world, I can think of two generational examples of lessons lost. One was the lessons of the New Deal, labour empowerment and a strengthened social safety net that didn’t resonate with the environmental and peace values of the anti-war, hippy movement of the 60s. That disconnect brought us a strong rift between labour and environmental activists who share so many common interests and should be working together.

Now, many younger people have lost the wins of previous generations, rejecting their gains. The contempt for big government is a precursor for privatization and deregulation, which puts public services into private hands — reducing their quality and increasing profits for the wealthy. Getting money out of politics would serve us better. Embracing a fabricated good old days often rejects hard won societal gains.

Why? How were these important past victories airbrushed from the consciousness of so many? What other wisdom has been lost, and how do we find it again?

At the same time, many are losing the social skills that keep us connected with and caring for each other. Each person for themselves in a dog eat dog world is not the kind of future we should be pursuing.

My heart feels heavy as I contemplate this. I grieve all I’ve lost from both sides of my own family of birth: the loss of two languages that at the time were an embarrassment to pass along, and the worldview contained in each. How many have similar stories?

I have renewed respect for historians, the ones who dig for the truth especially. There are so many lessons we need to remember in this precarious time.

The spread of disinformation seems to be on the minds of many. Here are two recent articles that describe aspects of the disinformation we’re being bombarded with.

I highly recommend reading this excellent article about how the disinformation machine works. This extract gives you a sense of it:

A public that cannot agree on what happened yesterday cannot organize around what needs to happen tomorrow, a public that cannot identify a specific perpetrator cannot hold that perpetrator accountable, and a public too exhausted to sort truth from lie will eventually stop trying. That exhaustion is the product being sold.

This article describing the way the label ‘war economy’ is applied to adversaries of the west only, even when western allies spend much more on war. The economic impacts take benefit war profiteers at the expense of everything else, while creating the impression that countries we demonize are the ones with war economies.

One way of passing along stories and issues is through song. Here are a few examples.

If you’re of Welsh ancestry you might appreciate this song that shows how some dealt with the English building a bombing school on Welsh territory. Here’s a song about a hero of the labour movement. Aretha Franklin sings about the need for respect, Terry Garthwaite wonders what more life has to offer a woman, and Melanie sings about the pain of being misrepresented. Bob Marley sings about the need to stand up for our rights and the importance of knowing our history. And, more recently, Lowkey sings about the need for Palestinian freedom. And anti-war songs are numerous, but here are just a few: War, Universal Soldier, Masters of War.

And here’s a chant from environmental protests that reminds us of our interconnectedness and collective power:

We are the dance of the moon and sun,

We are the power that’s in everyone.

We are the turning of the tide,

We are the hope that is deep inside.

We are the flow and we are the ebb,

We are the weavers, we are the web.

How do we learn to respect our elders so they can pass along the wisdom of they’ve gleaned over the course of their lifetimes? How do we pass along the things we’ve learned? How do we create cultures where that kind of knowledge is valued?

I can’t help but wonder how previous generations would handle the situations we now find ourselves in. What advice would they give us?

These times need our full attention. They need correct information, clear vision, good strategy and effective action. And they need a moral compass. I hope we can all be open to the lessons of history, and do whatever is needed to course correct from the terrifying path we find ourselves on.

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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/categories

Here are some factsheets about Israel: https://www.cjpme.org/factsheets

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

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