Sunday, November 13, 2011

Crazy Talk

Remember what I said about America not going insane, last week? Yeah, then that Penn State thing came out, and the board fired the great coach, like they needed to, but then they left the guy on staff who actually saw that sexual predator assault that boy, and didn't do a whit more than the coach, or anyone else who knew about it. Isn't that just about as clear a tale as there is, as to how a game of dominance and destruction has become like a religion to so many Americans, that even a known pedophile cannot be exposed, or even prevented, and he was maybe even allowed to prostitute boys to wealthy donors - ostensibly, to protect the program. And then that video, those policemen, in Berkeley of-all-places, pummeling those kids and teachers, pulling them around by their hair - a clear message to Americans, about what happens to those who question the prevailing paradigm. And John Corzine, Senator and Governor and potential heir to the Treasury-Office of the Secretary, former CEO of Goldman Sachs and all-around darling of the Wall Street set, walking away unscathed after $600,000,000 of investor funds, under his purview, go missing, as if it was just a bad bet? I'm not sure if it's a sign of our worship of the Market, or our faith in the Law, that either of these men, Corzine and Sandusky, are still alive. We are a society of laws, I keep hearing, but from my perspective, these laws seem tilted rather strikingly, pardon the pun, to keeping the majority in check, while letting a minority risk hundreds of millions of other people's dollars, and even rape children with impunity, from a pedestal.

And Ms Bachmann out there, talking about beating Sandusky to a pulp. This, from a woman who as President, would likely drop a nuclear bomb on Tehran. She doesn't look like she's going to have that opportunity, thank God. Which is curious, as God apparently told her to run. Isn't that funny, God sending such a message of consistent crazy talk. But then, there's Herman Cain, who God too convinced to run. I'm wondering why God wants such a cad to be president? I mean seriously, if public accusations of sexually inappropriate behavior are like what corporations used to think was the rule about written complaints (back when they still cared about customer service), then there are like 500 women this wannabe President humiliated sexually. If you consider too, going-public nationally is a bit more intense than writing a letter, the number is probably more like a thousand. That is some seriously ill mo-jo. But clearly, that kind is held in high esteem, in some circles. I'm starting to think God has a wicked sense of humor. I mean, really, who actually thinks pedaling some of the shittiest pizza in America is reason to be President?

Lest you forget, it would have been Obama who would have tapped Corzine for the Treasury post. I do have to say, though, his recent stall on the Keystone XL pipeline is the first major decision he has made as President that I agree with. Not that the Canadians are any less likely to find a way to continue to open up a wound in the North American continent here-to-fore unknown anywhere on Earth. Now that they can't just send a pipeline through the heartland, they are prevented by a mountain range in the West and ice in the North, and it's a damn long way from Alberta to Nova Scotia. But that route is over granite bedrock, which is a lot more stable than permafrost. How much do you think is at stake, in this next election? Just as The Congress is set to eviscerate the economy with a $1.5 trillion cut in spending. That pipeline would be a G-O-GO on about day 101, of any Presidency of any of the candidates running among the GOP. Then again, I'm not sure existing oil supplies, or the continued solvency of the EU, or the international bond market, will see that pipeline to completion, whoever is elected. Whatever the case, it cannot ever be built, to lead anywhere off the continent.

A guy showed up at the store, the morning after I wrote the last post. In a conversation about art with one of my staff, he let out that he had consumed seven grams of shrooms the night before. Good god, I said, Terence Mckenna met with the mushroom man on five grams! I took his presence as a sign, even if he looked sleepy, and a little skittish. He said he would find some for me, and I heard from him once, but he hasn't shown up since. Too bad.

All week, something I said in the last post has been sticking with me. What exactly am I advocating? Well, here's something. I've said it before. Dismantle every third house in some neighborhoods of Minneapolis, and use them to rebuild the others, to take advantage of solar heat. We might start with every house owned solely by any bank that is heavily leveraged in International markets. Start a trend. If our elected officials insist on acting like bank and Wall Street bitches, then I say, take the big banks down. While we're at it, start a new local gift-based currency. Appropriate as much land as possible to gardens. It's all going to happen sooner or latter, anyway. Might as well be intentional about it.

I had a premonition riding my bike to work this morning, after spending the evening with a woman, that all that has passed in this last 6,500 year cycle, all of the ever increasing suffering of the teeming masses, of biological systems everywhere, of the whole system of the Earth, is spiraling to some energetic point; out of which we will continue, spiraling energetically outward, hopefully in a more all-encompassing way. Every one of us has the opportunity in any moment to make any choice, that can set us entirely on a new trajectory. Here's hoping humanity makes a choice that will right itself with the Earth.

Oblivion is probably inevitable.

8 comments:

Luciddreams said...

Last night on "The Lifeboat Hour" with Michael Ruppert he had Carolyn Baker on. If you don't know, she's pretty much the psychoanalyst/psychiatrist for the Transition Movement (I wanted to say PO movement, but I think that the phrase "Peak Oil" no longer does the job. We've already peaked, it's in the past, and it's a given at this point. Transition is a better word because that's what we are doing, transitioning into a new paradigm.)

In the show Carolyn actually said to walk away from your debt, your credit cards, your house, ect. ect. She actually said that, "walk away." They were talking about the OWS movement, specifically the Occupy Santa Rosa (OSR) encampment. Ruppert was talking about how symbolic the tents were and that if he could make a flag for the movement it would feature a tent because it symbolizes independence and self-reliance yet in a tribal/community setting. They talked about how OSR was very tribal and that the tribal model worked (I suppose only because our species has spent the over whelming majority of our time as a tribal species.)

What struck me the most about the conversation was that she said to "walk away." Walk away because it's time to do exactly that with this system. I'm gonna finish this on my blog cause I've been inspired...so thank you for that.

Luciddreams said...

http://emtmusings.blogspot.com/2011/11/last-night-on-lifeboat-hour-with.html

another one brought on by your musings.

Just wanted you to read it. For what it's worth, I don't expect you to post this comment.

William Hunter Duncan said...

Luciddreams,

I've long said the surest way to revolution is to stop paying the bills. If you want the system to collapse, stop feeding it. But of course, that's easier for a single guy like myself than a father with a young child. But talking about it spreads the word, and maybe at some time there is a saturation point at which we can do it together in numbers that serve to protect us from the fallout.

I can tell you too, I resist any talk of violent revolution. Violence may be inevitable, but I don't trust anyone who thinks violence is a solution to anything. I'm not interested at all in trading one tyranny for another.

As to the tribal thing, that is not necessarily the primary model for where we go from here. Look to JMG's point about the consensus model as a method of tyranny by a minority. It's not time to gather together as much as it's a time for each of us to look deep inside ourselves to nurture the think that will not be ruled, and will not rule.

WHD

Luciddreams said...

I agree with you about the violence. Passive aggressive civil disobedience is the only way to change anything. Knowing that doesn't take away the anger that comes from being reminded of your servitude by your masters every time you punch a clock. Just to turn around and give it all back to the same man who gave it to you to acquire your subsistence.

I'm just ready for this miserable situation to change. Yet I know that there is a long road ahead of us. A road that drives us insane like the Chinese water torture. One minor insult after another until you really can't take one more drop.

I feel this way and I consider myself to have an above normal control over my emotions. So I can imagine the amount of seething rage beneath the surface on the front lines of OWS where the unjust forces of police brutality beg for retaliation. They are poking the caged tiger with a stick and the cage is not locked. It's truly amazing to me that it's stayed non-violent so far.

I pray that it stays that way.

Yet at the same time I feel that rage myself.

Ryan said...

An obligation committed to paper and backed up by the force of law can be quite compelling. These elements create the illusion that official contracts are somehow more important than unofficial obligations. However, if your official and perceived duties clash such that you must choose one over the other, you face consequences either way. The question is what it has always been: which consequences are you willing to face?

It would not be easy to turn one's back entirely on the current system, but that is the result of our system making us all dependent on it. And the more dependent we become, the more reason we have to stick with that system, to instead just hope that it will radically change on its own without our having to make a difficult choice and sacrifice. I don't expect that that will happen. Even if it does, the new would not necessarily be better than the old.

I have instead found comfort in a life of few obligations and desires. My goal is to one day be able to help others with their own, but I will do so subtly from within this system. And when I do, I will not worry so much about the path our civilization is taking, but instead know that I have helped to change it for the better. There is not much else for me to do anyway, as I have deemed the consequences of openly opposing the status quo too great for me.

Justin said...

Some friendly advice if you ever score those mushrooms (assuming you haven't tried them yet, hence the repeated statement of intention/curiosity).

Remember that everything you hallucinate and experience is internal. If something is going bad, change whatever it is you are thinking about. You will hallucinate, and the hallucinations will take the shape to fit some pattern of thought in your head. You have the power to change that in that moment by just controlling what you think about, then the 'dream' will shift, and when it shifts you can stop thinking about whatever it is that you used to change gears. Changing physical surroundings is also a good way to do this. If you start down a bad path of thought, get up and walk somewhere. Your mind is good at keeping several strands of thought at hand, but it is still limited, so forcing it into a mode by working on a task can also help.

Common bad patterns to trip on
1. Contemplations on people you've wronged, including yourself
2. Contemplations on failures to meet expectations people have placed upon you, including yourself
3. Dark forces in society, like how we view sex, war, etc.

Tripping will not unlock any hidden truths about the problems listed above, its function is showing how powerfully our perception and response mechanism of conciousness is. Be safe.

William Hunter Duncan said...

Ryan,

Ultimately, changing ourselves is the only change required, if even that can be said to be required. That you are doing anything at all, in any context, to invoke positive change, is heartening to me. Blessings.

Justin,

Thanks for the advice. I took one shroom once, about a decade ago. No score as yet, but should I, I will be sure to report.

Thardiust said...

If the banks get taken down the economy many people depend upon now would crash. If the economy crashes hard enough the banks would get taken down. Now more than ever would be a good time to just be patient while, simultaneously, preparing for the inevitable as best you can.