Bcc: contributors -------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2003 11:19:38 -0700 From: lynette <•••@••.•••> Subject: Re: Total Despair & The Queen of Hearts To: •••@••.••• re: Denial People who do not have the privilege of a university education and who still have the capacity to critically think, are I think from my experiences, quite cognizant of the corruption of governments, the media etc. They however, also realize they still are part of a capitalistic system with few safety nets any longer, and that they have to eke a living out within the system. To attack their bread and butter openly would place themselves and their families at imminent risk. Few are willing to do this because at some level they recognize the precariousness of such action. Also, the blue collar segment of society recognizes the power for one, of the police and realize that the fairness of law really only subscribes to those with power and money. If one has ever been poor, and few educated people have been, then one can understand the major reluctance of people to jeopardize what little security they possess. They will not do it, I believe, until the bottom line is finally felt. Further, I work with people who all have university degrees who will not go where I will go in thought, at least out loud, simply because they are afraid. 911 was a major shock for many people who were/are only too happy to use the Arab world as the scapegoat without thinking too hard about other connections. Most of us are constrained from political activity within the workplace, and political correctness has been refined to ensure that nothing be said that might upset anyone. So yes, I agree that people do not want to hear anything that 'might rock their worlds'. So unless some major ecological catastrophe happens, the elite may have their agenda for world fascism fulfilled, and all my university educated colleagues will then wring their hands and moan. There are also those who will 'pony up to the gate' and get in line to see how they can integrate into the power structure. As the spiritual visionaries say, the forces of darkness will align to fight those of light. People will choose their sides when the time is right, and it is not yet. If one does not know they are in a prison, then how can one plan their escape? Re: Nuclear weapons- perhaps they are not the threat we should be worrying about at this point. The ecological balance of this planet is more crucial to our survival at this point. We cannot live without water, food or shelter. Grandmother Earth may yet circumvent the plans for global domination. I agree with you Richard, that we have no input into decisions about development of anything that might be a hazard to us. I am not even sure that I want to know what they play around with in secret laboratories, etc. these days- or what has escaped- or will escape to our detriment. The point I am trying to make, is that there are too many aspects to conjecture about in relation to our current situation. It is uncomfortable for many to even admit that the whole idea of democratic ideals they believe still hold sway, no longer really matter or apply. We are only being allowed to vote to give the illusion of democracy. Our governments have been long bought and sold. We live in a world that is pretty much corrupted. The only thing that I feel I have real control of at the end of the day, is my decision to be as good a human being, as possible and to live in balance with the earth as best as possible given the kind of societies we have engendered. Sincerely, Lynette ------------ Dear Lynette, You speak for many, and eloquently. The chances of changing anything seem remote; we must each make an accommodation with the system in order to survive; we strive to have a happy life in the midst of all; our head aches if we think too much about how things might change. And yet many of us feel we have no choice but to be cheeky -- to struggle for our collective liberation as best we can, despite all odds. And there are some things to take encouragement from. For one thing, the masses of people all over the world are coming to realize the bankruptcy of the current system and the fragility of our environment. Even those of us in the privileged West are losing our illusions and realizing that we too are on the chopping block for accelerated exploitation. I believe that the historical conditions are ripe for a mass waking up. The anti-globalization movement, and the massive anti-Iraq-war demonstrations are evidence of that. This idea continues in the next item below. thanks for your contribution, rkm -------------------------------------------------------- To: Tom Atlee <•••@••.•••> From: "Richard K. Moore" <•••@••.•••> Subject: re: Nice response 7/13/03, Tom Atlee wrote: > I've just been exploring the nonviolent strategies that preceded Lexington/Concord in the American revolution. Interesting how close they came to success before the "shot heard round the world" destroyed all the progress that had been made. It seems a similar thing happened in Russia, where the army was alienated from the Czar and siding with the workers until the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks convinced general strike leaders to get violent, at which point the army turned against the workers and the rest is history. > There are specifics about "the people waking up" that we need to understand more about. .. Dear Tom, Yes, and there is much we already know that is useful. For example: waking up, when it happens, is non-linear. By that, I mean it comes as a surprise, happens all at once. The conditions are there, certainly, but they were there for a long time and nothing happened. It's like dry grass which survives many hot days, but then one day catches fire and hundreds of acres are burned. Consider how surprisingly the sixties arose. There was the war, and there was the vacuum of the fifties, but only a few were waking up. Then came Joan Baez & Bob Dylan (among others) and within a few years we had flower children, Haight Ashbury, and massive demonstrations. Suddenly, "The Times They Were a'Changin". The shift in spirit was palpable and there was no real center or leader or party or cadre. Non-linear in time; non-hierarchical in structure; outside the system in spirit. You say we only have 20 years before it's too late. I think that's a very long time. And the grass is very dry. My concern is less with "Will a fire start?" than with "Will it be the right fire?". Because another thing we know about the examples you cited, and nearly all others like them, is that popular movements which make serious headway usually get taken over by elites with their own agendas. My thinking goes like this: (1) Assume there WILL be a mass waking up. Otherwise none of our work can amount to anything. (2) When that happens the important question will be: Are the correct seeds available? (3) By correct seeds I mean revolutionary ideas which: (a) can resist co-option (b) can deal with suppression (c) envision a sustainable world (d) envision a genuinely democratic world (e) embody their goals in their revolutionary process Reform ideas might help us in the short run, but in a mass waking up they become dangerous distractions. They encourage compromise when victory is possible. And compromise with elites ALWAYS leads to an elite resurgence further down the road. So my focus is always on the moment of waking up: how to encourage that moment and how that moment can become transformative. cheers, rkm -- ============================================================================ There is not a problem with the system. The system is the problem. cyberjournal home page: http://cyberjournal.org "Zen of Global Transformation" home page: http://www.QuayLargo.com/Transformation/ QuayLargo discussion forum: http://www.QuayLargo.com/Transformation/ShowChat/?ScreenName=ShowThreads cj list archives: http://cyberjournal.org/cj/show_archives/?lists=cj newslog list archives: http://cyberjournal.org/cj/show_archives/?lists=newslog 'Truthout' excellent news source: http://www.truthout.org subscribe addresses for cj list: •••@••.••• •••@••.••• ============================================================================