April 25, 2012

Opting Out Of The Machine

If we are not free, the machine will not work
There are many references to society being like a machine, but I have never heard one stated as well as Mario Savio did in 1964.

Savio was a leader in the 1964/65 Free Speech Movement that began on the University of California, Berkeley campus. The movement was fighting against repressive rules on campus that banned political activities and severely restricted students' rights to free speech and assembly.

In a now famous speech on the steps of Sproule Hall December 2, 1964, Savio said,
"There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious - makes you so sick at heart - that you can't take part. You can't even passively take part.
And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop.
And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all."
I consider simple living to be an alternative to being a cog in a machine intent on destroying everything in its path in the pursuit of profit.

I make sacrifices willingly, and joyfully, to put my body in the apparatus of the consumer machine. This is part of my contribution toward stopping the machine, stopping the destruction, and stopping the greed.

I am creating a new machine. One that respects the environment, and people. One that takes care of everyone. One that produces peace, love, and happiness.

That is where I am putting my cog.

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous4/25/2012

    I'm with you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good to hear you are on board. Together we can do this thing.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous7/16/2012

    I agree! It is important to relises that the "for Profit' machines are only a creation of our own consumer demands.
    Distroy the demand and the machines have no fuel and become obsolete.
    We have to be happy with what we have and stop wanting the bigger house or better tv.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, that is the answer. Our participation is what keeps the machine going. When we stop supporting the current paradigm it will crumble and be replaced with one that is better for everyone.

      It is already happening, and it is inevitable that it will be successful. We are aware, and we are moving on to a better world.

      Delete

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