So I saw this little meme this morning and thought how great a reminder it is how cyclical our current situation is and how it takes real courage, strength and commitment to keep REAL democracy going. The question is, what is it going to take to get people to start walking the walk?
I realised the other day that of the handful of people I've met locally who actually understand the situation, all of them still shop at walmart. Of the smattering of people in the US that I've met who really get it, only a few seem willing to take a stand by boycotting corporations or being involved in local politics or refusing to eat meat from the supermarket. I have been accused of having righteous indignation and I don't deny it, I think it was my only way of not backsliding into eating KFC when I drive past and get nostalgic or popping into a big box store because it's convenient or buying bananas from Equador because I miss the taste of bananas. I'm not saying I'm prefect, I am typing this on a computer using the internet and I'm about to hop in my vehicle powered by fossil fuels to get a marriage license.
I find those technologies have very little in the way of replacement where as eating only local, in season fruit for years or never eating meat I don't know the origin of personally or not stepping foot in a big box store for 15 years or only buying american products is not that huge of a thing to do. I just wonder about how the shit we face as a society will ever get resolved if we aren't wiling as individuals to take a stand on easy things like this. Is it a consequence of the size of this country? We don't think that we make much difference as an individual among 330 million others...tragedy of the commons style? Do we think that sharing memes on Facebook will solve our problems?
When I left the US in 2001, very few people had a clue, now I feel most people know what the problems are but just don't know how to actively solve them and are instead giving their power away to the likes of Obama or Bernie Sanders who they hope will magically fix everything like the promise.
Nothing will be fixed until we all take some personal responsibility and make some personal concessions and sacrifices.
I am an Anarchist which to me is defined as self governance through personal responsibility. If we aren't willing to take the easy steps toward toppling the corporations and the inequities in our system now, the only next chance we will have is an all out revolution.
I don't want people to feel disempowered by this, I want them to feel empowered to start taking the steps to break their dependency on the system that is run by the insane clown posse! Grow your own food, start preserving, learn wild edibles and mushrooms, collaborate with neighbours, put in a water tank. Get fit and get smart and these jokers lose their power.
What it means to me is stop giving your power away to a dysfunctional and incorrigible system.
What about the men (and women) in denim who value cheap and convenience so highly they support the men (and women) in suits by buying their products and justify it by saying they just can't "afford" to buy from fellow folks in denim. So it goes in America...people who seem to lack the integrity or courage to pass up a "deal" to save their own country from ruin.
I urge people...wake up and stop making excuses! It is you and only YOU that can turn this shit around.