Living outside the structure of power and economy
If everything you saw tormented you, you'd gouge your eyes out. Reality today is so terrifying that it is no wonder that many people choose to do this (metaphorically). Wars, diseases, famine, exploitation and environmental devastation have left many good people feeling helpless in what seems to be a hopeless world. The corporate media machine has managed to corner us into their fear trap, paralyzing us, while snuffing out our spirit in order to turn us into obedient, unquestioning, consumers.
They want us to be afraid, because when people are scared we consume at higher levels. This is why they only present impossible problems, never causes or solutions. It is better that we don't understand why these problems exist, because if we understand the problems we'll be inclined to fix them.
Remember this: It is only our enemies who want us to be hopeless and apathetic. Our ignorance is their only strength, and their counting on us to do nothing. Don't ever let them win. We have all the power we need to fix everything. It wouldn't even be a hard thing to do because everything is interconnected. When we look at hunger, war, exploitation, disease and environmental destruction as isolated and independent problems, fixing the world does seem like an impossible task. It is only by digging through the dirt to uncover the intertwining roots that we will figure out how easy it would be to bring down this metaphorical tree.
There is indeed a ‘root of all evil.' It is not money, but money isn't that far off. Money is simply the facilitator of this problem. It's the root of money itself that is the true problem plaguing human existence; power.
People only want money because money represents power. It is our desire to be powerful that is the root cause of all problems. Power is incredibly addictive and always abused. It is the desire to dominate our families that is responsible for domestic violence. It is power that compels police officers, and prison and security guards to brutalize ‘criminals.' It is the desire to dominate the world that drives every international conflict. It is power that drives youth in the military to commit war crimes. We would rather weaken each other in order to feel more powerful than share power equally. This is why powerful countries such as ours use it to keep the third world poor and powerless. This is why those with power pay as little as legally possible to their employees. It is power that drives greedy corporate criminals to plunder the earths resources. Power makes politicians lie. Power gets the powerful off with the worst crimes. Power brings out the worst in humanity. Ready for solutions?
Start with yourself. Check your desires. Do you dominate anyone or anything? If so, relinquish control and liberate yourself from this deadly addiction. You'll be happier and feel better about yourself once you are not spending your time figuring out ways to maintain or expand your power. Freeing your mind from this soul-sucking practice will actually empower you. Once you challenge your own power you need to challenge the authorities that dominate your daily life and take back the power that is rightfully yours. Remember, it is after all, YOUR LIFE. Finally, once you've challenged your own power, and asserted your own autonomy, you will be in a good position to take aim at the power structure itself.
Figure out all the ways you empower the powerful and reverse them. Create a horizontally structured network of friends and wreak havoc on the system of domination. Don't stop at just boycotting global brands and chains. In order to take away their power (money) you must subvertize their propaganda and sabotage their business model. Find out where executives live and bring your beef to their front door. Live only by the laws of your own conscience and hold those who abuse their power accountable. Liberate animals from the factory farms and circuses that torture and murder them. Liberate the earth from economists who see forests as tree farms and water as a commodity. Beautify the blank walls in your city. Boycott the mainstream media by contributing to, and becoming, the independent media. Live outside the ‘economy' whenever possible. The less you rely on your job and others' jobs to survive, the more power you will have over your own existence. ‘Buying' should always be your last resort when acquiring the things you need. Try making it, borrowing it, salvaging it, or finding someone willing to donate it. Don't work for a wage, instead volunteer your time and resources to projects and causes that you deem worthwhile. Help foster a culture of giving, or a ‘gift economy' as some say. The idea is revolutionary but is being put intpractice right here, right now. A ‘really really free market' is coming soon.
Empower yourself and the world will follow.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
They want us to be afraid, because when people are scared we consume at higher levels. This is why they only present impossible problems, never causes or solutions. It is better that we don't understand why these problems exist, because if we understand the problems we'll be inclined to fix them.
Remember this: It is only our enemies who want us to be hopeless and apathetic. Our ignorance is their only strength, and their counting on us to do nothing. Don't ever let them win. We have all the power we need to fix everything. It wouldn't even be a hard thing to do because everything is interconnected. When we look at hunger, war, exploitation, disease and environmental destruction as isolated and independent problems, fixing the world does seem like an impossible task. It is only by digging through the dirt to uncover the intertwining roots that we will figure out how easy it would be to bring down this metaphorical tree.
There is indeed a ‘root of all evil.' It is not money, but money isn't that far off. Money is simply the facilitator of this problem. It's the root of money itself that is the true problem plaguing human existence; power.
People only want money because money represents power. It is our desire to be powerful that is the root cause of all problems. Power is incredibly addictive and always abused. It is the desire to dominate our families that is responsible for domestic violence. It is power that compels police officers, and prison and security guards to brutalize ‘criminals.' It is the desire to dominate the world that drives every international conflict. It is power that drives youth in the military to commit war crimes. We would rather weaken each other in order to feel more powerful than share power equally. This is why powerful countries such as ours use it to keep the third world poor and powerless. This is why those with power pay as little as legally possible to their employees. It is power that drives greedy corporate criminals to plunder the earths resources. Power makes politicians lie. Power gets the powerful off with the worst crimes. Power brings out the worst in humanity. Ready for solutions?
Start with yourself. Check your desires. Do you dominate anyone or anything? If so, relinquish control and liberate yourself from this deadly addiction. You'll be happier and feel better about yourself once you are not spending your time figuring out ways to maintain or expand your power. Freeing your mind from this soul-sucking practice will actually empower you. Once you challenge your own power you need to challenge the authorities that dominate your daily life and take back the power that is rightfully yours. Remember, it is after all, YOUR LIFE. Finally, once you've challenged your own power, and asserted your own autonomy, you will be in a good position to take aim at the power structure itself.
Figure out all the ways you empower the powerful and reverse them. Create a horizontally structured network of friends and wreak havoc on the system of domination. Don't stop at just boycotting global brands and chains. In order to take away their power (money) you must subvertize their propaganda and sabotage their business model. Find out where executives live and bring your beef to their front door. Live only by the laws of your own conscience and hold those who abuse their power accountable. Liberate animals from the factory farms and circuses that torture and murder them. Liberate the earth from economists who see forests as tree farms and water as a commodity. Beautify the blank walls in your city. Boycott the mainstream media by contributing to, and becoming, the independent media. Live outside the ‘economy' whenever possible. The less you rely on your job and others' jobs to survive, the more power you will have over your own existence. ‘Buying' should always be your last resort when acquiring the things you need. Try making it, borrowing it, salvaging it, or finding someone willing to donate it. Don't work for a wage, instead volunteer your time and resources to projects and causes that you deem worthwhile. Help foster a culture of giving, or a ‘gift economy' as some say. The idea is revolutionary but is being put intpractice right here, right now. A ‘really really free market' is coming soon.
Empower yourself and the world will follow.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
