What We Can Change And What We Can’t Change
I had an interesting exchange with someone on a discussion list this week. I don’t really know this person well, but assume he’s young, probably in his 20′s, highly idealistic, full of energy and ready to storm the Bastille.
There was a time when I was exactly the same way, and on some days, even at the ripe old age of 46, I still feel the same way. But as time passes, testosterone levels decrease and wisdom increases. Or we at least get a better balance of both.
My young conversationalist, Michael, wants to change Washington. Change the world and bring down the ruling juntas. Protect his “shrinking freedoms.” Noble ideas and understandable, but hopelessly doomed to failure. There are multiple reasons, not the least of which is the size and complexity of these centralized systems of dominance. They’re run by people that were willing to do damn near anything to get there, and you can be sure they’ll be damn willing to do anything to remain in power. Even if it means taking a trillion dollars or so from the citizenry and passing it on their friends. All to save us, of course.
And as I’ve stated before, the ability for the citizenry to violently seize power from the state pretty much ended with the invention of the Gatlin Gun. From that point onward, the state had more fire power than the citizenry and if that wasn’t enough, air power certainly sealed the deal.
My advice to Michael was to focus on the things he can change. Himself, his home and his community. We can’t change Washington! It’s never represented the people of this nation and never will. It’s always been there to protect private, propertied interests and to use whatever methods are necessary to extend economy hegemony for a few at the expense of many.
As my friend Hayduke often says “I don’t want better bad system. I want a better new system.” Or something to that effect.
That’s actually a very keen observation, one we should all take a moment to consider. The idea of building a better, new system in parallel to the existing one that resists change and cannot be changed. I don’t care what Obama says.
Hayduke always said democracy begins between the ears and that’s a simple yet profound truth. Once we understand democracy and embrace the concept, we begin to practice it in our homes and neighborhoods. We build self-sufficient, egalitarian communities and then extend these ideas to the bioregion and perhaps even the continent. The concept of “thousands of little communes.”
We can’t dismantle the current, centralized and coercive system, but we can decentralize and build independent systems of self reliance in preparation for its ultimate downfall. And the first step is to stop doing the same old things!
We build greenways, bike lanes, establish neighborhood committees for schools and community gardens. We form cooperatives for food, clothing, energy and services and we build community owned transportation. We do without things that we cannot produce cooperatively or obtain via fair trade with other regions and boycott corporations and businesses that do not treat workers fairly or offer ownership to employees.
We can have laws and rules we decide upon democratically. We can have effective self-defense. We can do all of these things without Washington!
We practice democracy every day in our daily lives. That’s freedom and the only way to insure you keep freedom.
I talk a lot about cooperatives and the importance of cooperatives in our communities. Here are the basic principles of cooperatives. As you read them, think about how many organizations and institutions you’re involved with that embrace these principles:
1. voluntary and open membership
2. democratic member control
3. member economic participation
4. autonomy and independence
5. education, training and information
6. cooperation among cooperatives
7. concern for community
Now, contrast that with the Washington supported financial debacle where a handful of powerful people sitting at the top of a hierarchical system where you’re not even a blip on the radar. I suppose you did have economic participation because you paid the bill! Concern for community? Who really believes that any of these rich muckety-mucks has any concern for their community! Information? Yeah, we got full disclosure on this deal. Just like Iraq.
If you want freedom and change, stop doing what you’re doing. Stop sending these people your money and keep your money in your community. Build economic stability at home.
The other choice is to keep doing what you’re doing and get nowhere.
“We can have effective self-defense.” Against what? Playground bullies. Certainly not against terrorism, or even a small militia. Talking out of your ass again.
GK, there are plenty of nations with much smaller defense budgets than ours doing just fine. But one of the reasons they’re not spending trillions on defense is they’re not doing things that piss off the whole world.
But I guess when you’re an imperialist nation, hell bent on spreading industrial capitalism as your raison d’etre, you have to spend that type of money to keep the minions in line.