There is something rotten in the world, and its stench has been growing my whole life. It is coming to a head now, like no other time in my almost 6 decades.
I welcome the disruption because it is becoming obvious that we are losing our fight for freedom, and that powerful undemocratic forces have taken over.
Most of us didn't notice this global coup that is now steamrolling over the planet. We were too busy shopping, and staring at screens with their endless vomitorum of putrid propagandistic programming.
Kalle Lasn, cofounder of Adbusters Media Foundation, a Canadian-based not-for-profit, pro-environmental organization founded in 1989, has been watching this all unfold. In his book, "Culture Jam", he explains what he has seen, and what we might do about it.
"America is no longer a country. It's a multitrillion-dollar brand. Amer-
ica™ is essentially no different from McDonald's, Marlboro or General
Motors. It's an image "sold" not only to the citizens of the U.S.A., but to consumers worldwide.
The American brand is associated with catch- words such as "democracy," "opportunity" and "freedom." But like cigarettes that are sold as symbols of vitality and youthful rebellion, the American reality is very different from its brand image.
America™ has been subverted by corporate agendas. Its elected officials bow before corporate power as a condition of their survival in office. A collective sense of powerlessness and disillusionment has set in. A deeply felt sense of betrayal is brewing."
You can read Lasn's book for free here at the online Internet Archive. But get ready for a wake up call, even if you consider yourself informed. After reading this, shopping will never be the same again. Nor will your ideas about freedom, democracy, effective government, or the truth.
Are you ready for a revolution that will reclaim what is rightly ours and has been stolen by a small group of power hungry, greedy, and very dangerous people?
Kalle Lasn has a plan.
Hello Gregg, Linda and everyone reading: I've been reading all the recent posts and comments...and loving them. So nice to have somewhere to turn during the ridiculous-ness that has become the Christmas season. This post is so spot on. Kalle Lasn is correct, the United States of America might as well be "the United States of America, sponsored by Burger King - have it your way..." Or maybe it would be regional sponsorships, which is basically what Nike does (headquartered in Oregon) as the sponsor of the University of Oregon football team. So sad. I will read Lasn's book, thank you for the link.
ReplyDeleteWhich this all brings me to the philosopher Alan Watts. I thought of Watts when I read your "Nature's Dance" post (which I loved the photos, thank you). Watts says, "The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." Lovely. I've been needing some help to calm an anxious mind recently, and Watts has come into my world and been a great help. Highly recommend reading him, and on Youtube there are many of his lectures available to listen too.
I was watching a video of Watts describing how to use meditation as a time of non-thinking, which should bring you more into the reality of life. He talks about money and prestige..."You can't eat prestige; you can't eat success. And so, to overcome the beguilement of the fantasies of thought, not thinking (through meditation) is an important adjunct to thought..."
"...the beguilement of the fantasies..." that stuck in my head. That is is what this holiday season has become, a beguilement (meaning deception) of fantasies of how "perfect" our life will be if only we turn our hearts and minds OUT of a sense of wonderment, caring, joy, love and put it all on the stuff we must have to fulfill those fantasies. Crazy. The youtube video I mention is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPUpCFn_Cl4
Thanks to all of your out there in NBA land - I appreciate you so much. Thank you for reading this long comment!
All the best - Mary
Mary, this is spot on for this moment in time, both historically and astronomically. Winter Solstice is related to the concept of change, as we go through both seasonal and personal changes.
DeleteHistorically, we are running through another cycle where the rich forget that it is the "little people" that make their wealth possible. Alas, this is just more change, as inevitable, it seems, as the changing seasons. Like these dark days, we have to let go and let them run their course, knowing that at the end there will be light.
I enjoy Watts a lot, like "Sitting Quietly, Doing Nothing", from "The Way Of Zen". It is that straightforward, but how often do we do that?
The dark days now invite us to introspection, but only if one slows down long enough can they hear that whisper. And is not a whole lot of modern living manufactured deceptions? What is even real any more? It is an attack on everything. It is an attack on reality as we used to know it.
Big changes have us asking questions. We are looking always for the answers "out there" somewhere. We should be looking "in here", in our own minds. Sitting quietly, doing nothing. Just breathe.
Long comments always welcome here. Hope you are snuggled down and enjoying the turn of the seasons.