Many of us already do many of the things you suggest, Diana. The real problem is to convince most of the rest of the population. People are just too tied to their cars, their smartphones, MacDonalds. Walmart and trying to live their lives and support their children. Maybe, if those in power assisted people to change it might help. We are being governed by a bunch of immature adults who very well may have been schoolyard bullies before they were physical adults.
I have to wonder how many eyes are being opened by the genocide taking place, and how people might change their behaviours. Even if more people did what many of us are already doing it could make a big difference. And I get how busy and stretched people are, Susan, and how hard it can be to change entrenched habits.
About 10-15% have always been committed to opposing sides of change...it is the minority who make the difference. You are energy mattering. Expansive, higher energy that is also grounded matters more! It's not numbers, it's strength of the power of love, embodied. To refuse to dehumanize or explain away the atrocities on any side, but to have compassion, discernment and a will to co-creative beyond the laws of form to create divine solutions that are practical and can start with us...our own selves, locally where we live as well as starting as islands of consciousness that then connect and fill in...
It is essential to understand what we are in the midst of: end-stage capitalism. Indigenous cultures would see it as Wetiko -- a kind of mind virus that begins with consumption, grows to over-consumption and ends with cannibalism. The guys at the Due Dissidence had a great explanation of what his happening using the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore as an embodiment of the stage of a dying capitalist system we are in. The fact that the fatalities were immigrant workers adds to the symbolism. It's only 12 minutes long:
Thee commentary video you include applies perfectly to the kleptocratic sludge pit the United States has fallen into, with the US/Israeli genocide embodying our particularly cruel brand of economic Wetiko.
Nice interview with Paul Levy on the Howl in the Wilderness podcast. I'd heard of Wetiko, but only came across this link via Robin White's Seedkeeper substack. This after finally reaching a horrid end of the road what to do moment, and opened myself up to intuition and following from there. Today has been an interesting blend of Marx, Complexity Theory and Spiritual Ecology.
‘A person who has not been completely alienated, who has remained sensitive and able to feel, who has not lost their sense of dignity, who is not yet ‘for sale’, who can still suffer over the suffering of others, who hasn’t acquired fully the ‘having mode of existence’- briefly, a person who has remained a person and not become a thing- cannot help feeling lonely, powerless, and isolated in present day society. He cannot help doubting himself and his own convictions, if not his sanity. He cannot help suffering, even though he can experience moments of joy and clarity that are absent in the life of his ‘normal’ contemporaries. Not rarely, he will suffer from anxiety and depression that results from the situation of a sane man living in an insane society.’ Erich Fromm
Hi Diana. I feel your pain and your frustration. It's overwhelming isn't it. As to an answer "What Do We . Do When Our Leader's aren't Listening My answer is nothing. I'm not trying to be a smart ass, but once our political leaders get elected (which costs a lot of money) they don't give a rat's ass about us. they aren't there to represent the people who voted for them. No they are beholden to EXXON, CHEVRON, BP, all the Fossil Fuel Companies. They should all be told to go frack themselves and in the States, the NRA has more clout than God- the people that came up with the cold harsh cash which they needed to run their campaign.
The only answer I can come with (and trust me I tried) is on the microcosm level - family, friends, community, co-workers. I do sense your frustration and your pain. Take care of yourself! Colin
Thanks, Colin. I do take pretty good care of myself, and hope you do too. Thanks for your comment. I know -- the global situation right now is pretty crazy making, but thankfully there are lots of kindred spirits, online and off.
Thank you Diana -- yes to all of it. the 'maybes' can be hard for those whose own lives are circumscribed by the pressures of the capitalist machine, but those of us who can shift the story are standing on the side of hope for all.
I'm actually feeling a little bit hopeful. The west is cornered, and there's the potential to do the right thing, even if for the wrong reasons. I think we need to be urging peace, which will mean a just peace in this context, I think.
When you said "we as citizens are not being treated as respected members of our nations, but as people to be duped so we'll vote the right way in the next election'... WHOO CHILE I felt this. I live in the western global south and I see this in our leadership and politics on a daily basis. Our two party system has become less and less about serving the people and more of a performance meant to confuse and distract from the real issues. Great read
Nihilism. Zionism. Capitalism. All 3 share a common central tenet: power is in the hands of wealthy elites with no regard for anyone or anything beyond what serves their interests.
Well said it is genocide and the world is complicit. I’ve signed so many petitions just done one to David Cameron passed on awful videos but to no avail. Don’t know about you but I can’t get Palestine and their suffering out of my mind how are they coping surviving. I keep thinking there is more people in the world against this if only together we could stop it. Whilst politicians debate more are killed starved injured how would they feel if it was their family how do they sleep they must have no conscience.
Hi Julie, it's all I can post about so, ya, it's on my mind all the time too, and will be until the genocide in Gaza stops. I think it's essential that we somehow join forces and stop this, and I don't know how. I think this and the unjust wars taking place elsewhere in the world are the beginning of the end of the neoliberal system. It's showing its true colours, and more people are no longer falling for its lies.
An Algonquin native guide was leading a Jesuit priest through the forest on the way to visit the lands of the Chipewyan Nation just south of Lake Superior, where the priest was anxious to spread the ‘Good News’ of the Gospel. Suddenly, the guide stopped dead in his tracks, turned, and asked the priest, ‘Would I still go to hell if I never knew about God and sin and hell?’
The priest hesitated and replied, ‘No, not if you never knew.’
Perplexed, the native guide whispered, ‘Then why did you tell me?’
I'm beginning to conclude that with "leaders like these, who needs'em?" Perhaps this is what will come out of all this horror of genocide--We the People will learn to trust our own abilities to rule ourselves democratically through direct means and not through pseudo-representation. We will get rid of the money in politics and the power of the billionaires/oligarchs. It won't be easy, but it will be worth the fight.
It's dystopian... Capitalism breeds these, and they turn our lives into a real hell on earth. Until capitalism survives (even with its oxygen mask on) this will continue...
Many of us already do many of the things you suggest, Diana. The real problem is to convince most of the rest of the population. People are just too tied to their cars, their smartphones, MacDonalds. Walmart and trying to live their lives and support their children. Maybe, if those in power assisted people to change it might help. We are being governed by a bunch of immature adults who very well may have been schoolyard bullies before they were physical adults.
I have to wonder how many eyes are being opened by the genocide taking place, and how people might change their behaviours. Even if more people did what many of us are already doing it could make a big difference. And I get how busy and stretched people are, Susan, and how hard it can be to change entrenched habits.
It has always been that a small group of people who initiate change and the rest will follow.
About 10-15% have always been committed to opposing sides of change...it is the minority who make the difference. You are energy mattering. Expansive, higher energy that is also grounded matters more! It's not numbers, it's strength of the power of love, embodied. To refuse to dehumanize or explain away the atrocities on any side, but to have compassion, discernment and a will to co-creative beyond the laws of form to create divine solutions that are practical and can start with us...our own selves, locally where we live as well as starting as islands of consciousness that then connect and fill in...
It is essential to understand what we are in the midst of: end-stage capitalism. Indigenous cultures would see it as Wetiko -- a kind of mind virus that begins with consumption, grows to over-consumption and ends with cannibalism. The guys at the Due Dissidence had a great explanation of what his happening using the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore as an embodiment of the stage of a dying capitalist system we are in. The fact that the fatalities were immigrant workers adds to the symbolism. It's only 12 minutes long:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_hKdnDa51U
Thee commentary video you include applies perfectly to the kleptocratic sludge pit the United States has fallen into, with the US/Israeli genocide embodying our particularly cruel brand of economic Wetiko.
I encourage folks to learn about Wetiko -- it's not some new age thing, you will see the perfect parallels to it. Paul Levy has written a couple very readable books on the subject. The most recent is: 'Wetiko: Healing the Mind-Virus That Plagues Our World'. https://www.amazon.com/Wetiko-Healing-Mind-Virus-Plagues-World/dp/1644114100/ref=sr_1_1?crid=147SZ9AD4WG18&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.wIvmx1oL4B4yT3EEimYW559Fo98unKuz6JifMu9wcFzSr-PCzBck187zESofZt6w_tksfRYnS9ec7jimoIOgDr42UgnlrXrqKJ-2NLCUH4tKs7s47D-LFfD0uBlLg4UvdD3lSZdSG79p8FwK-c04hPKIiHjKAQ3HwtiAGCvzxii7OmCf_lkD9nVXjn3oDoDW6TmuFeEJc_mKf_0aLnh2s8kMv6iH3Yu8wdMNNmTAh2I.bhTGmQOyN4f01WdyBqYTjAulyE5TD08GCHMgVajKI5k&dib_tag=se&keywords=paul+levy+wetiko&qid=1711761097&sprefix=paul+levy%2Caps%2C480&sr=8-1
I'm going to check these things out further when I get a chance, Mark. Thanks for sending them along.
Nice interview with Paul Levy on the Howl in the Wilderness podcast. I'd heard of Wetiko, but only came across this link via Robin White's Seedkeeper substack. This after finally reaching a horrid end of the road what to do moment, and opened myself up to intuition and following from there. Today has been an interesting blend of Marx, Complexity Theory and Spiritual Ecology.
Paul Levy is great. Sounds like your day was well spent, Peter.
‘A person who has not been completely alienated, who has remained sensitive and able to feel, who has not lost their sense of dignity, who is not yet ‘for sale’, who can still suffer over the suffering of others, who hasn’t acquired fully the ‘having mode of existence’- briefly, a person who has remained a person and not become a thing- cannot help feeling lonely, powerless, and isolated in present day society. He cannot help doubting himself and his own convictions, if not his sanity. He cannot help suffering, even though he can experience moments of joy and clarity that are absent in the life of his ‘normal’ contemporaries. Not rarely, he will suffer from anxiety and depression that results from the situation of a sane man living in an insane society.’ Erich Fromm
Hi Diana. I feel your pain and your frustration. It's overwhelming isn't it. As to an answer "What Do We . Do When Our Leader's aren't Listening My answer is nothing. I'm not trying to be a smart ass, but once our political leaders get elected (which costs a lot of money) they don't give a rat's ass about us. they aren't there to represent the people who voted for them. No they are beholden to EXXON, CHEVRON, BP, all the Fossil Fuel Companies. They should all be told to go frack themselves and in the States, the NRA has more clout than God- the people that came up with the cold harsh cash which they needed to run their campaign.
The only answer I can come with (and trust me I tried) is on the microcosm level - family, friends, community, co-workers. I do sense your frustration and your pain. Take care of yourself! Colin
Thanks, Colin. I do take pretty good care of myself, and hope you do too. Thanks for your comment. I know -- the global situation right now is pretty crazy making, but thankfully there are lots of kindred spirits, online and off.
Thank you Diana -- yes to all of it. the 'maybes' can be hard for those whose own lives are circumscribed by the pressures of the capitalist machine, but those of us who can shift the story are standing on the side of hope for all.
Reprehensible. I'm ashamed of my country.
I'm ashamed of all of our western countries, including Canada.
Thank-you Diana .I really appreciate that! Stay strong- rocky road ahead. I'm afraid to even watch the news anymore. We need you! Colin
I'm actually feeling a little bit hopeful. The west is cornered, and there's the potential to do the right thing, even if for the wrong reasons. I think we need to be urging peace, which will mean a just peace in this context, I think.
When you said "we as citizens are not being treated as respected members of our nations, but as people to be duped so we'll vote the right way in the next election'... WHOO CHILE I felt this. I live in the western global south and I see this in our leadership and politics on a daily basis. Our two party system has become less and less about serving the people and more of a performance meant to confuse and distract from the real issues. Great read
So glad you enjoyed it, Tay. As sad as it is that it's the case...
So grateful I found you on Substack!
Thanks, Donna! I feel so honoured.
The corporate "person" is valued more than human persons...
It sure is, tragically...
Nihilism. Zionism. Capitalism. All 3 share a common central tenet: power is in the hands of wealthy elites with no regard for anyone or anything beyond what serves their interests.
They never were leaders…..
Well said it is genocide and the world is complicit. I’ve signed so many petitions just done one to David Cameron passed on awful videos but to no avail. Don’t know about you but I can’t get Palestine and their suffering out of my mind how are they coping surviving. I keep thinking there is more people in the world against this if only together we could stop it. Whilst politicians debate more are killed starved injured how would they feel if it was their family how do they sleep they must have no conscience.
Hi Julie, it's all I can post about so, ya, it's on my mind all the time too, and will be until the genocide in Gaza stops. I think it's essential that we somehow join forces and stop this, and I don't know how. I think this and the unjust wars taking place elsewhere in the world are the beginning of the end of the neoliberal system. It's showing its true colours, and more people are no longer falling for its lies.
Let’s hope so
An Algonquin native guide was leading a Jesuit priest through the forest on the way to visit the lands of the Chipewyan Nation just south of Lake Superior, where the priest was anxious to spread the ‘Good News’ of the Gospel. Suddenly, the guide stopped dead in his tracks, turned, and asked the priest, ‘Would I still go to hell if I never knew about God and sin and hell?’
The priest hesitated and replied, ‘No, not if you never knew.’
Perplexed, the native guide whispered, ‘Then why did you tell me?’
Good stuff Diana! I am subscribing and would gladly go paid but with all that is going on I am a bit over committed.
"All the great ideas have been expressed, what remains is to act on them"-anon
I'm beginning to conclude that with "leaders like these, who needs'em?" Perhaps this is what will come out of all this horror of genocide--We the People will learn to trust our own abilities to rule ourselves democratically through direct means and not through pseudo-representation. We will get rid of the money in politics and the power of the billionaires/oligarchs. It won't be easy, but it will be worth the fight.
It's dystopian... Capitalism breeds these, and they turn our lives into a real hell on earth. Until capitalism survives (even with its oxygen mask on) this will continue...