Enlightening The Zeitgeist: Three Reasons For Revolution
September 22, 2015 | By Guest Post |
Politics
A few quick notes about this article…
- This is an interactive article. The blue/underlined links spread
throughout will take the reader to specific references and resources (videos, articles, etc.) when clicked.
- This article was previously published on this website as a 6-part blog series, which can be found by clicking here: Introduction, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Conclusion.
- Note: At the time this piece was produced,
all of the links in this article led to functional websites. I
apologize if that is no longer the case.
|
Enlighten: To become informed, inspired, unburdened or empowered.
Zeitgeist: The general outlook, spirit, or cultural climate of the times.
Revolution: A sudden and profound brand of change. |
INTRODUCTION:
What if Everyone Suddenly Knew?
Never akin to the world of politics during
my first 3+ decades on planet Earth, things…well…have changed. But my
newfound attraction to politics is not what you might think. The
politics of today are not what have drawn me into this arena. It is the politics of tomorrow
which have done that. I find little inspiration in today’s lobbying,
corporatized, warring, and perception-manipulating brand of politics.
What inspires me is the promise of what politics could be one day:
A species-wide expression of sustainability in our relationships to our envirmonment, to each other, and to ourselves.
There is room for great purpose–for
evolution–within the political arena–no matter how dark it seems. In
fact, it is literally the flagship of the consciousness of our species!
Our politics show us exactly what we have generally accepted to be true
about ourselves as a people…thus far. What this ultimately means is that
we have as a collective–each and every one of us–in one way or
another–through our zealous fundamentalism or apathetic denial, our
deceit or ignorance–created the corrupt political climate that we are
all currently surviving. We are all responsible for it, but that does
not imply blame or fault. In a manner of speaking, it’s nobody’s fault because it’s everybody’s
fault. Our crooked political arena is simply the
external/physical/visible manifestation of our evolutionary progress to
this point. It could, quite literally, have happened no other way
because we’ve done the best we can given the information that has been
made available to us…to this point.
Following that line of thought, until we have become exposed to, or are somehow made aware of,
realities or truths which challenge what we’ve always believed to be
true…we are incapable of perceiving that we have a choice in the matter!
In essence, to make a choice, we must first feel as though we have a
choice—we must become aware of the choice.
The purpose of this article series is to
contribute to that informative process so that we may all begin—as a
community of free-thinkers—to perceive an entire new realm of choice,
and to move forward from that point toward the creation of some
revolutionary brand of new, sustainable politics.
That Said, What if Everyone Suddenly Knew…
What if we all suddenly knew—were made aware of the
fact—that the Federal Reserve is not a federal institution, but rather a
private central bank operated by a few wealthy elite; and, that those
few wealthy elite have been empowered to decide how money works in order
to perpetuate and consolidate their wealth and power?
What if we all suddenly
knew—were made aware of the fact—that we don’t really get a choice in
the election of the president; and, that we are merely offered an
“illusion of choice” by a two-party system (the Republicans and the Democrats) that seeks only to perpetuate its rule?
What if we all suddenly
knew—were made aware of the fact—that the bulk of our mass media outlets
are owned by a mere handful of corporations; and, that this corporate
media’s general theme—or intent—is to broadcast a distorted brand of
information, which ultimately serves to enhance corporate power and
profit margins, containing little or nothing to do with the notion of
“truth”?
This three-tiered system of control via the Monetary, Electoral, and Media
systems is elusive and phantasmal because we have all been
indoctrinated into it over the course of our lives, our parents’ lives,
and beyond. Exposing these systems is often labeled as “unpatriotic,”
“conspiracy,” or “dissent.” Yet, I have found that the use of such
absolutist terms is usually indicative that something of profound relevance has been stirred-up.
If the masses—WE THE PEOPLE—all of us, suddenly knew the control
systems mentioned above to be fact…what might happen? What could a
nation of aware peoples accomplish with this kind of knowledge?
Thus, the Monetary System, the Electoral Process, and the Mass Media are the 3 Reasons for Revolution, and will be the focus of this multi-part discussion, running as follows:
INTRODUCTION: What if Everyone Suddenly Knew?
PART 1: Reason #1—The Monetary System—Built to Create Debt-Servitude
PART 2: Reason #2—The Electoral Process—An Illusion of Choice
PART 3: Reason #3—The Mass Media—Deliverers of False Reality
PART 4: Revolutionary Solutions
CONCLUSION: Excavating the Truth
PART 1:
Reason #1—The Monetary System—Built to Create Debt-Servitude |
What would you say if I told you that the Federal Reserve
(the institution in command of the production of our money supply) was not a part of the federal government?
And, a likely reason that it carries the “Federal” part of its name is
to encourage the assumption that it is indeed a federal entity…which,
again, it absolutely is not.
The fact of the matter is that the
Federal Reserve is a privately-owned central bank masquerading as a
government agency for the people. It, quite literally, is a group of
wealthy elite who were empowered many years ago—by our own government—to
have monopolistic command over the nation’s money supply. This system
was put in place as a means of control. He who controls the
money—controls all.
EXAMPLE: Let’s say a brand-new
country creates a brand-new central bank like the Federal Reserve, and
that central bank prints the country’s first batch of money. For the
sake of keeping things simple, let’s say it prints $10. The bank
delivers that money to the new country’s government—at 5% interest. The
quandary is this: Where is the 5% going to come from when it was never
printed in the first place? You guessed it—the central bank, once again,
via the phenomenon known as “inflation.” This in turn creates what? You
guessed it—more debt.
Thus…a National Debt is created.
This is an extremely simplified example. Yet, what it means is that every single dollar in circulation represents debt—every single dollar.
And, this is a debt that cannot possibly be paid off under the
arrangement of our current monetary system, because the amount of money
owed back to the Federal Reserve will always exceed the amount of
money that currently exists in circulation—due to the phenomenon known
as “interest.” It doesn’t take much of an imagination to realize the
hopeless brand of financial slavery this paradox creates for the public.
This system benefits only those at the top of the fiscal food chain,
and leaves the rest holding the proverbial bag.
What’s more, our money, though once
backed by gold, is no longer backed by anything whatsoever. This means
that the private central bank, known as the Federal Reserve, prints up
complicated-looking green bills worth no more than the paper and ink
used to make them. The only thing that gives those fancy-looking bills
any “real” value is our belief in the system itself—solidified by our
decades of servitude. The entire money-machine is built on the idea of
scarcity. Our public’s belief in its value—combined with a great and
terrible fear of not having enough—is absolutely crucial to the
perpetuation and success of that machine.
The ramifications that this kind of monetary system has had on our society are astronomical. There is
very strong
evidence to support the notion that the financial crises of our country
have been deliberate, calculated, and executed in order for the wealthy
elite to further consolidate their wealth and power. This includes, but
is not limited to,
The Great Depression as well as the
financial crisis of 2008.
By manipulating the ebb and flow of the money supply and interest
rates—in order to evoke financial crises—the wealthy elite have been
able to acquire the property, land and resources from those at the
bottom of the fiscal food chain who have inevitably gone broke along the
way. It is as brilliant as it is sinister.
Sound ridiculous?!? Consider the
following reality of how our banking system works today, and then ask
yourself: Who in their right mind—who claims to love a country and its
people—would create a system like this:
The Fractional Reserve System of Banking: Money Out of Nowhere…
Under the fractional reserve system of banking, when a deposit is
made into a bank, that bank is then allowed to use a certain percentage
of the deposit (let’s say roughly 90%) as a basis for new loans
to other customers. Let me repeat: The bank is then allowed to use a
certain percentage of that deposit as a basis for new
loans…therein lies the catch. While common sense might suggest that the
90% to be loaned is coming from the aforementioned deposit…this is
simply not the case. Under the fractional reserve system, the bank is
allowed to create that amount of money…out of thin air.
EXAMPLE: John Doe deposits $1000
into a bank. Under the fractional reserve system of banking, the bank
is then allowed to loan a percentage of that money out
(let’s say roughly 90% or $900)
to other customers. So, John Q Public comes to the bank and asks for a
loan of $900. Once again, it is very logical to assume that the $900
would be coming out of the original $1000 deposit. But this is simply
not what’s going on.
The bank actually creates that $900 out of nowhere—as mere digits on a screen. Then, when that new $900 loan is deposited, the cycle continues.
What this means is that, under the
fractional reserve system, a bank can give you a “loan” of money that
isn’t real, was never printed, was created out of nowhere, and is
represented by mere digits on a computer screen. This makes the bank’s
liability strictly theoretical because it hasn’t actually given you anything. Yet, what is required of you is to make loan payments with your actual/real money, and if you happen to default on your loan, the bank can seize your assets.
| TRANSLATION: The
bank risks nothing by giving you nothing real—but can take everything
real from you. They get something for nothing. When a person takes from
another person in this way, it’s called a “crime.” When a bank does it,
it’s called “money-creation.” |
Whether consciously or unconsciously,
we’ve all generally agreed to the notion that a particular amount of
“money” entitles us to a particular amount of resources (food, shelter, heat, transportation, stuff, etc.), or what we might otherwise call: An inherent ability or potential to exist. So henceforth, let’s simply call money: Existence Potential.
Thus, according to our current monetary system, the wealthy,
particularly the wealthy elite, are granted far more potential to exist
than the non-wealthy. (And yes, they have indeed been “granted” this right via our universal agreement about the value of our paper bills.)
So, let’s break this down: One group of people has more green paper
than another; and, because of this fact, those with lots of that green
paper are entitled to more of the Earth’s resources.
Reflexively, I am inclined to ask the question, “Is that fair?”
But, on second thought, I don’t think that “fairness” has anything to
do with it. The more relevant question—in regard to a
holistically-sustainable world—might be, “Does it make any sense?” From the perspective of competition and capitalism, the answer is undoubtedly a booming “Yes!”
But, we’re talking about life here, about our fellow man, about our
world and environment, about all of the things that made capitalism
possible in the first place—NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
Which brings us to the fundamental
problem with our current monetary system: You see, the system is
always-always-always self-justified in its unrelenting acquisition of
more and more Existence Potential (more money) even if it means
war, bailouts, poverty, pollution and the like. This type of value
system is a direct result of our universal agreement on how and why
we’ve come to value money. To reiterate, for the majority of people,
money directly represents the ability to acquire resources needed to
survive. It translates directly as Existence Potential. Therefore, the
acquisition of it—in whatever manner is deemed necessary in the
moment—will always be paramount to the entity—whether that entity be an
individual, a company, or a nation. The acquisition of Existence Potential will always precede any ideas of Sustainability
because, in our current system, the two are quite naturally seen as
mutually exclusive—particularly when survival of the entity is
perceivably at stake. This, in turn, propagates the “enemy-concept.”
For, anyone who is perceived as a threat to the influx of Existence
Potential (one’s ability to live) is then officially declared an enemy, a terrorist, a threat to national security.
In essence—via our current monetary
system—we have all agreed that our inalienable right to life is not
inalienable at all…it must actually be earned. And because this
is so, the true well-being of our world, our neighbor, and ourselves
can—and will—never come first. But if we—THE PEOPLE—decide on a new
value system (a new paradigm that determines what and how we determine value),
a system that considers the sustainability of our environmental and
social wellbeing first and foremost, a system that fundamentally rejects
the concept of the “enemy” and all of its protégés: poverty,
pollution, capitalism, and the like…if we the people make THIS DECISION,
then perhaps a revolution would not be far behind.
PART 2:
Reason #2—The Electoral Process—An Illusion of Choice |
What would you say if I told you
that when we go to the polls to vote for a president, we’re not
actually getting a real choice, but are merely offered an “illusion of
choice” between two dominant political parties (the Republicans and the Democrats)?
What if I told you that there was an intentional effort to keep the
public trained into believing that no other candidates are relevant or
viable, and that the entire process was set in place in order to ensure
that only members of one of those two parties could become president?
Why might this be? First of all, we’ve
been programmed to believe that the Republicans and Democrats are what
the government is supposed to be. But this is simply not true. What if I
told you that the concept of “political parties” has become ingrained
into our idea of government and politics over time simply because they
have been there for so long, but that—like money—these parties only have the value we as the people assume them to have…making them fundamentally NON-essential to our political process, and perhaps—as of late—a dangerous liability?
You see, the Republicans and Democrats, generally speaking, are merely
different sides of the same coin. This is evidenced not by where they actively disagree, but rather, where they have remained mutually silent:
Our corrupted monetary system and its parent institution—The Federal Reserve. As discussed in PART 1, this is the
ORIGINAL PROBLEM.
All social, political, economic and environmental disharmonies begin
there. For, there can be no harmony and no rest in a culture operating
solely on the principal of debt, profit, power and capitalism first…and
the sustainability of its people and planet last. Thus, due to a lack of
ability to create real, sustainable change in this area, our monetary
disaster—via the private central bank known as The Federal
Reserve—appears to have been mutually endorsed by both the Democratic
and Republican parties through their shared
silence and inaction.
The Commission on Presidential Debates (The CPD)…
If you’re skeptical about the idea of the two parties working
together to maintain control over our political system, here is proof:
The CPD. Have you heard of it? It is a corporation that was started years ago by the chairs of the
Democratic and Republican parties
in order to seize control of the Presidential Debates. It is no stretch
of the imagination to realize that leaving such a profoundly important
political happening in the hands of two major political parties creates
an equally profound
conflict of interest of which the people inevitably suffer the consequences.
The Democratic and Republican party-run CPD created what’s known as the “
15% barrier” which basically states that in order for a third-party candidate
(a non-republican and non-democrat) to be allowed into the Presidential debates, that candidate must first have 15% support in national polls.
| TRANSLATION: Third-party candidates must first have the popular support—that they are seeking by appearing in the presidential debates in the first place—prior to appearing in the presidential debates. This is what is referred to as a catch 22. |
In fact, in the first presidential
debate of 2000, third-party candidate Ralph Nader was such a threat to
the Democratic and Republican parties
(represented by Gore and Bush), that not only was he not allowed to debate them, he was also told—by police—to
leave the grounds under threat of arrest
when he tried to attend as an audience member. The agenda of the CPD to
maintain a stranglehold over the presidential debates in order to
maintain the “illusion of choice” has never been so transparent.
So, what we have is an
INTENTIONALLY-CREATED SYSTEM whereby the essential alternative
philosophies of potential third-party candidates are silenced by the
fact that they are unable to receive any mass media exposure. It doesn’t
take much thought to imagine the all-out carnage to voter education
that this causes—by not allowing to occur—a truthful, authentic debate
on issues that the people want to know about.
The result of this kind of corrupted
electoral process is that it has guaranteed the placement into office
those who have allowed systems such as the Federal Reserve to dictate
the nation’s future. If the people—the masses—were able to hear more
clearly the voices of those potential leaders who more clearly resembled themselves and their own values,
the voices of those whose interests lie in the creation of a
holistically-sustainable culture, the voices of those who would seek to
cultivate a logically compassionate brand of leadership—a brand of
leadership that would not succumb to the current propagandist,
warmongering tactics of fear, hate, and terror in order to persuade
public opinion—a brand of leadership that would not perpetually fly the
false flag of “Patriotism” in order to carry out financial and otherwise
elitist agendas…if we the people were able to hear THOSE VOICES, then
perhaps a revolution would not be far behind.
PART 3:
Reason #3—The Mass Media—Deliverers of False Reality |
What would you say if I told you that the major mass media outlets (where the public is supposed to be able to go to get a truthful account of world affairs)
are now generally owned by a handful of corporations? What if I told
you that money, profit and capitalism are now the central focus of our
news providers…rather than the unbiased, informative account of the
local, national and global events—the knowing of which—are essential to a
public’s ability to arrive at rational and logically-accurate
conclusions?
In the early 80’s, the bulk of our TV, radio, newspaper, and other media outlets, were owned by fifty corporations.
That number has profoundly plummeted down to FIVE. Let me repeat, there are now
five corporations that control the majority of the major media providers in the U.S.
In light of this statistic—and this
statistic alone—I believe we have enough evidence to suggest that the
information passed to us from our major mass media absolutely cannot be
taken at face value. This is because the end result is not
journalism—but rather—capitalism, profit and power achieved through the
delivery of false reality; a false reality that seeks to undermine the
public’s intuition and convince them that they must consume in order to
achieve success; a false reality that fossil fuels are our only energy
solution; a false reality that the world is a dangerous place full of
terror[ists], and that we are unpatriotic if we question our
government’s propensity for war in the name of “national security.”
Have you noticed this trend? Have you
noticed the mass media’s incessant flair for the dramatic? It is through
the use of these dramatic and fear-based campaigns that the mass media
captures our attention; and, over time, convinces us of one
overwhelmingly distorted reality:
We need more.
More money, more oil, more medication,
more soldiers, more war, more control…more. All of this chaotic
propaganda is at the expense of all of the REAL issues at hand that
we—THE PEOPLE—rarely hear a word about. Such as, the utterly corrupt
nature of our private central bank—the Federal Reserve, or the CPD’s (Commission on Presidential Debates)
involvement in corrupting our electoral process, or, for that matter,
the fact that five corporations have been allowed to own and corrupt the
bulk of our essential mass media outlets.
Let’s ask ourselves: Why might a
handful of corporations so vigorously acquire all of these media
providers? There are a couple of answers as I see it: 1) It has become
enormously profitable as there are
hundreds of billions of dollars up for grabs.
2) Through the mass media, what the public learns and accepts to be
true can be controlled to a great extent. Thus, we have a
corporately-controlled media that carefully and articulately
disseminates the exact kind of information that perpetuates their
profitable agendas. The false reality is delivered.
Another related avenue of corporate media control is through sponsorship
(advertising).
This creates a situation whereby the message of the media must not
conflict with the companies that pay the enormous sums of money for
advertising. This has—in no uncertain terms—handcuffed the art of
journalism, forcing journalists to self-censor their message
at the risk of losing their jobs. Once again, the false reality is delivered.
This is why the corrupt practices of The Federal Reserve
are not covered in the mass media every single day! This is why many of
us have no idea that the Federal Reserve is a private bank that has
been empowered by our government to place the entire nation into an
incomprehensible amount of debt by printing valueless fancy-looking
paper and selling it to our government—at interest!
This is why the corrupt practices of the CPD are
not covered in the mass media every single day! This is why no third
party candidates are ever given any mass media coverage during their
campaigns, and why many of us generally believe that the Republican and
Democratic parties are actually necessary—rather than detrimental!
This is why the corruption and corporatization of the mass media are
not covered in the mass media every single day! This is why the
distortions, which the mass media places on information, so rarely come
to light!
Some might call it programming. Others
might call it brainwashing. Either way, the result is a mass media that
has become corrupted beyond recognition. It is controlled. It is
deliberate. Because this is so, the world it portrays could not be
further from the truth. For, when there is that much money at stake (Existence Potential),
the message that is provided must support and promote the corporation’s
objectives—financial, political, whatever—first and foremost.
PART 4:
Revolutionary Solutions |
It is a conditioned inaccuracy to assume that a revolution involves violence.
The truth is, it simply implies a profound and sudden change, and
nothing more. That said, the changes that will need to take place in
order to restore balance to the three corrupted systems previously
discussed will not occur overnight. For now, we can and must work with
what we have, regardless of the fact that it is indeed broken and
non-sustainable. As public awareness and support grows, we
can—relatively speaking—quickly create near immediate, acute
improvements which will prepare us for the broader, more global
strategies which will impact the world over for generations to come.
Solutions for RIGHT NOW: The Monetary System…
To review the critical, central concept of Part 1: The fundamental
problem with our current monetary system is that it is
always-always-always self justified in its unrelenting acquisition of
more and more Existence Potential (more money), even if it means
war, bailouts, poverty, pollution and the like. This type of value
system is a direct result of our universal agreement on how and why
we’ve come to value money. To reiterate, for the majority of people,
money directly represents the ability to acquire resources needed to
survive. It translates directly as Existence Potential. Therefore, the
acquisition of it—in whatever manner is deemed necessary in the
moment—will always be paramount to the entity—whether that entity be an
individual, a company, or a nation. The acquisition of Existence Potential will always precede any ideas of Sustainability
because, in our current system, the two are quite naturally seen as
mutually exclusive—particularly when survival of the entity is
perceivably at stake. This in turn propagates the “enemy” concept. For,
anyone who is perceived as a threat to the influx of Existence Potential
(one’s ability to live) is then officially declared an enemy, a
terrorist, a threat to national security. You see, the problem goes
beyond our current monetary system…
The problem is that we HAVE a monetary system.
Radical words—I know. Sounds crazy—I get it.
But the fact is, where we are right now
is simply not sustainable on any level. You can just feel that, can’t
you? That we are tearing ourselves to pieces, waging war, competing with
everyone and everything…and all in the name of this made-up, valueless
thing we call “money.” But, clearly we cannot jump immediately into a
moneyless state of existence
(discussed later in “Solutions for THE FUTURE…”). We must start with where we are—with what’s been handed to us. Thanks to organizations like the
Thrive Movement, there are strategies being formulated as I write these words.
Thus, at the forefront of any discussion for fiscal reform must be the dismantling of the Federal Reserve.
As decades of corrupt, destructive behavior have shown, it’s time to
move forward and leave the archaic private, central-banking system
behind. However, it goes without saying that to do away with such an old
and powerful entity would not be an easy task, and would first require
public education and support on an unprecedented and massive scale.
Absolutely crucial to the task of ending the rule of the Federal Reserve is
complete government transparency during every phase of the transition—whereby the government reports regularly to the people. As the
Thrive Movement
has pointed out, this transparency would need to include major campaign
finance reform in order to remove the corporate/financial influence on
the decision-making of our politicians, thereby placing power back into
the hands of their constituents. To learn more, visit:
http://www.thrivemovement.com/sector_solutions-economics.
| TRANSLATION:
A politician who is not supported or influenced by big corporate money
interests must compete honestly for the votes of the people by fighting
for what those people want. |
Hand-in-hand with that transparency
would be the issuance of a new currency—freeing the people once and for
all from the corrupted corporate influences of the Federal Reserve by
eliminating the so-called national debt.
Solutions for RIGHT NOW: The Electoral Process…
So long as the Republican and Democratic parties remain in control of the presidential debates via the
Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), whereby third-party candidates are excluded from the debate process
(and even escorted off the property where the debates are held—under threat of arrest),
the American public will never be fairly introduced to any other
possibilities for economic, political or social evolution. We will keep
getting more of the same corrupted and corporatized leadership. Until
third-party candidates are allowed to be seen and heard on the
presidential debate stage, the
illusion of choice between the Republican and Democratic parties will continue.
First and foremost, to end the two-party
reign of control propagated by the Republican and Democratic parties,
the CPD must be exposed and shut down, thereby returning the
presidential debates back into the hands of a truly nonpartisan entity
whose interest lies solely in producing a debate stage that allows all
needs and interests of the people to be openly discussed—regardless of how controversial they are or how unpatriotic they seem.
Next, as briefly mentioned in the
“Monetary System” solutions above, in order to reinject integrity into
the electoral process, any concept of money and “
campaign finance” must be removed from the equation of electing political leaders.
Both of the critical issues above could
be accomplished quite efficiently with the creation of a nonpartisan,
all-encompassing political election/campaign network for TV, radio,
internet and the like (serving as a foundational piece of the new media solutions mentioned below—which absolutely do not operate for profit).
All of the candidates’ official media appearances—including all debates—would be made public exclusively through this network’s various outlets. Each candidate would be delegated the exact same amount of airtime and exposure, thereby removing campaign finance from being a factor. The advantages to such an arrangement would be profound…
- Third-Party Candidates: The simple inclusion of third-party
candidates onto an equal playing field—all by itself—could arguably
change everything. Fresh, honest perspectives from candidates that
intend to create real, wholesome change would undoubtedly have a
profound effect on voter education and voter choice.
- More Candidates in General: It has been reported that one of the reasons the CPD created the 15% barrier—which has made it impossible
for third-party candidates to appear in the presidential debates—was
because there would otherwise be too many candidates debating. HOGWASH!
This is just another smokescreen to maintain the status quo of the
Republican’s and Democrat’s two-party dominance. Even if this excuse was
reasonable, we could certainly have more than two candidates from the
same two political parties, year after year! With the technology widely
utilized by popular culture today, there is absolutely no reason why we
cannot have a plethora of candidates from which to listen and choose.
Besides, no one single entity (such as the CPD) should ever be
granted the power to determine how many candidates are “too many,” or
for that matter, which of them are relevant or not.
- More Debates: When you stop and think about it, doesn’t it seem a bit ridiculous that the CPD currently allows for only three
debates prior to the public’s voting for what is arguably the most
powerful, influential political office on the planet? We see two guys
debate three times. Wow.
- Debate Topic Relevance: A debate system unencumbered by
corporate influence would allow all of the controversial topics—that
currently go unmentioned—to be exposed and addressed. Topics such as the
corruption of the Federal Reserve, the corporatization of the media,
the disturbing inconsistencies and unanswered questions surrounding
international incidents such as 9/11, and many more.
In the meantime, until the CPD is
eliminated and replaced by some form of nonpartisan, non-corruptible
entity, the first and most immediately effective strategy that WE THE
PEOPLE can use is: Never vote for a Republican or Democrat ever again.
Solutions for RIGHT NOW: The Mass Media…
A mere
FIVE corporations now own the bulk of our mass media.
Before the masses can make well-informed political, economic and social
decisions about their local, national and global communities, they must
first have access to the truth of their world! Thus, there must be set
in place a nonpartisan independent media to function as an arm of THE
PEOPLE. This independent media would absolutely not operate for profit,
hence being freed from monetary and capitalistic influence of any kind.
Freed of corporate business interests, the media would be allowed to
report on what actually matters to the people. They could also use as
much time as they needed to do so without worrying about taking a
commercial break!
Thus, the sole purpose of this new media
would be this one singular mission: To deliver the complete, unbiased
facts about the local, national and global events deemed crucial by—you
guessed it—the people themselves. This means that this independent media
would absolutely be subject to not only a perpetual series of checks
and balances
(in order to ensure integrity), but also to direct voting and elections, whereby the people not only choose
what becomes news, but also
who reports it.
Such an organization would be revered and held as the people’s sacred
voice. One example of a similar brand of mass media reform comes again
from the
Thrive Movement. To learn more, visit:
http://www.thrivemovement.com/sector_solutions-media.
In the meantime, we can all have a
profound impact on this corrupt aspect of our culture by simply choosing
to STOP WATCHING the popular, corporatized major mass media fiction
that saturates our communities…just turn it off. Turn
off the brainwashing that seeks to have you at war with your neighbor.
Turn off the programming that would have you afraid of anything it can
conceive, while encouraging you to spend more time and money in order to
protect yourself and find “happiness.” Just turn it off.
We can also seek out alternative-media options, such as
Breaking the Set,
Buzzsaw,
Off the Grid,
and others, so that we might be exposed to alternative perspectives
that encourage us to challenge the fear and scarcity-based information
that we’ve believed and held so strongly to be true for far too long.
Solutions for THE FUTURE…
In the ultimate analysis, what it all boils down to is that the most
sustainable global community that could possibly exist would require
none
of the money, government or media as we’ve come to know them today. I
realize that this suggestion sounds insane—and understandably so when
contrasted with the current state of affairs. Nonetheless, in this very
moment, there are brilliant, open minds working on the concept of what
has been called a
Resource Based Economy.
In a Resource Based Economy,
everything that the world has to offer is made available—in sustainable
fashion—to everyone in the global family, without the corrupting control
mechanisms known as money and debt to dictate where and when goods and
resources are being allocated. You see, that is money’s ultimate
function: To control resources—not because they are scarce—but rather
to create a perceivable level of scarcity in a world that has more than
enough resources and technology to provide for all of us…every single
one. It is this fear of scarcity—which is currently programmed into our
cultural mind—that causes us to buy into the idea that we need more help
from the very same corporatized government system that—to a great
extent—put us here in the first place…perpetuating our non-sustainable
culture in an ultimate display of irony.
Some of the foundational principals of a Resource Based Economy are as follows…
- The value we give to money is a fabrication—an agreement, an assumption.
- All the world’s resources can be made available to all inhabitants, without the use of any kind of monetary system.
- Evolving beyond a monetary system—and the “enemy concept” that it
perpetuates—allows the world’s communities to become truly united for
the advancement and sustainability of “the all,” rather than seeking to
give profitable advantage to a wealthy few.
- The application of our most efficient and advanced technology
systems can provide a high standard of living for everyone, conserve
energy, and eliminate waste—and can do so now.
- Individuals could be empowered to participate in whatever way they
feel most competent, allowing all to explore, learn and grow in the ways
that inspire them, freeing mankind from the drudgery of “work.”
- There are clean energy alternatives—available now—to power our
species for thousands of years without the corrupting and polluting
elements of fossil fuels.
- This list goes on…
CONCLUSION:
Excavating the Truth |
If you’ve struggled with the nature of the content in this article, I understand where you are coming from.
Perhaps, keep this in mind: The truth is only the truth—nothing more.
The truth is not moral, or emotional, or justified, or right, or
wrong…it is merely the absolute actuality of a specified event—the
simple mechanics of what happened. The emotion and morality that we as a
species tend to inject into events can cloud our perception, throwing
us into a state of zealous fundamentalism, apathetic denial, or some
indifferent state in-between. Yet, none of that changes the truth of
what actually happened—it only serves to show us what kind of
relationship we have with the truth of what actually happened.
Our Relationship with the Truth…
In a sustainable relationship with the truth, the actuality
of an event—the truth—is observed and recognized first and foremost.
Choice and action are then taken as prescribed by one’s own personal
system of values or biases. EXAMPLE: My husband chose to end our
marriage based on what he wants for his life. I am now free to pursue
other avenues and relationships which might more accurately reflect my
idea of commitment and relationship.
In a non-sustainable relationship
with the truth, one’s own personal system of values or biases is the
first consideration, whereby the event is immediately passed through
this system, creating a “version” of the actuality—a version of the
truth. Choice and action are then taken in order to comply with, justify, and defend that version. EXAMPLE:
Due to his lack of commitment, my husband left me, which means he is
not a good man. As a result, I am justified in acquiring his assets in
court.
Thus, until we are able—as a species—to
discern the truth and to see our actuality for what it truly is—in our
politics, our economics, our environment and beyond—until that moment,
we will continue, in escalating fashion, to produce more of the
same…more of what we already have. Until our relationship with the truth
becomes sustainable, the non-sustainable characteristics of
competition, propaganda, distrust, debt, disease, and war will continue
their evolution toward becoming the defining characteristics of our
culture.
A Compass for Revolution…
Questions inevitably arise. Questions such as, “Where do we go to get the truth?” “How do we know when we’re being told the truth?” Essentially, the core issue is that it is difficult to know who and what to believe anymore. To which I offer this…
During the course of my nearly four
decades of life, I have learned to pay attention to those whose words
and actions perpetuate my desire to place my responsibility anywhere
other than on myself; those whose words and actions would have me
seeking defense against my neighbor, in essence separating me from my
local, national and global communities, creating disharmony and
distrust; those whose words and actions would perpetuate my
overconsumption of time, money and resources in order to serve some
commercially-driven, mundane or elusive cause; those whose words and
actions ultimately bind me to a false sense of—or need for—safety and
security.
I’ve learned to pay attention, as well,
to those whose words and actions ask nothing of me whatsoever, other
than my willingness to listen; those whose words and actions would free
me in some sense of the word, removing some form of restriction; those
whose words and actions simply move me toward something that feels
honest—despite the fact that there may be no guarantee of my safety or
reward.
I guess what it boils down to is: Who makes me feel desperation vs. who makes me feel love? You see…love matters. In
a world completely inundated with information where it is fair to say
that there is no way of knowing who is telling the truth or who we dare
trust…love matters. In fact, it matters now more than ever because it may be the only real thing left that any of us have to guide us.
With that, I thank you for making the time to read this, for I know full well how precious and rare spare time is. Please, if you feel inclined, share this article with your circle of people. Let’s initiate the dialogue. For, surely, every revolution begins there.
In the Interest of Complete Disclosure:
This piece of work has been a distillation of the massive amounts of
information provided by the interactive links placed throughout the
article, the resources listed below, and my own personal experience. I
do not claim to be an expert in any of the topics covered, and I cannot
guarantee absolute accuracy with any of the information I’ve offered
here, which is why I highly recommend doing one’s own research,
listening to one’s own intuition, and drawing one’s own conclusions.
(Note: At the time this piece was produced, all of the
links below led to functional websites. I apologize if that is no longer
the case.)
The Monetary System:
The Electoral Process:
The Mass Media:
Miscellaneous:
*Article originally appeared at NoahJamesHittner.com
