Democrastic Gridlock

This is something I wrote on FaceBook in response to some ideas on how to make the world a better, more just place to be human. A few people were advocating armed struggle while others advocated dismantling the Political Party system or encouraging people to drop off the grid.

Rioting would be fun (for a few minutes before the terror sets in) but in the end we would be left with a big mess, a big bill and a lot less freedom. As far as using 21st century technology to get off the grid, that's just silly, not to mention a bit of an oxymoron. But if you are bound and determined to get the hell out of Dodge then I say good riddance. Selfish quitters aren't likley to be much help in this struggle.

We are all creating our reality together with our thoughts! Which is why people really need to get their shit together and get on with it. Pointing out all the evils in the world does more to spread misery than to diminish it. Ditto for all the good stuff. Focus on yourself (the only piece of reality you have any real power over) and when you find some peace within - a lot of this stuff will not be so scary and ugly. When people learn to stop being ruled by fear (which is usually the main reason people elect idiots) - when we love ourselves and love life - everything else is trivial.

I believe that need to change the way politics and our economies operate. Entrenched political parties have outgrown their usefulness. In the U.S. Especially, but really throughout most modern democracies. Dismantling much of the current financial (debt) system might not be a bad idea either, but really we need to avoid too much chaos. If the world economy was to suddenly cease to be hundreds of millions would die. A working replacement would have to be ready to go first. Changing to a more reasonable (humanistic) economy will have to done gradually if we wish to avoid regressing back to barbarianism.  The odds are agsinst us but it's worth trying anyways.

I heard a quote recently that said something about how terrible democracy is as a form of government, but it happens to be less terrible than every other format we've tried so far. The main thing about democracy is it gets you exactly the government we deserve. So if we all get up off our ass and finally stop bitching and instead start getting creative - then we will begin to desrve something better.

I do not support "dropping off the grid". First of all, it's selfish. It's running away and abandoning your fellows to what you feel is a shitty situation that is only going to get worse. I myself have no desire to run away and hide. Not to mention that I really doubt that it's possible for everyone to get off the grid. I think it might be rather difficult to feed 7+ billion humans without modern tech and equipment. Add to all that the billions who are still impatiently waiting to get ON the grid.

Just to be sure we are clear, to me "getting off the grid" means becoming invisible to "the machine". No utilities. No credit cards. Anonymous pay-as-you-go cell phones. Cash or barter only. To make a home off the grid requires considerable sacrifice, and self-sufficiency requires work. I think humanity needs to learn how to work together better. We need to strengthen our bonds and our lines of communication. I think modern civilization has way too much to offer to turn my back on it. It's only fair that if I wish to utilize all that it has to offer I need to contribute towards it myself. To all of humanity, not just my contemporaries who are just as paranoid as I am.

The Colbert Report on Tuesday did a great job poking fun at Becks upcoming Apocalypse (Food Insurance Corp). The funniest part was the actual marketing materials talking about how well off you will be while your neighbours struggle to stay alive. It often happens that when people set themselves apart from everyone else it is often interpreted as being against everyone else. You become the evil "them". I believe the words "them" and "they" to be amongst the most insidious and dangerous curse words in the english language. Once they take possession of us we start projecting shadows everywhere. And then we try to defeat our own shadow and become what we most fear. It happens over and over ad nauseum throughout history. It does not work. I do not wish to defeat anyone other than my own personal demons. Desire to defeat someone we love is never very strong, so love everyone! You might get run over and ground into dust, but that is possible no matter what you decide to do. So go out with a smile if you must go out.