I think the bigggest concern on my mind is do we have enough time to do the amount of organizing that is necessary? The idiots in charge and the bigger idiots they surround themselves with all want war with nuclear states. Big tech is turning privacy into a relic of the past. The environment is collapsing around us. These are some of the biggest reasons for change, but it is also the biggest reasons we may not be able to get there.
Honestly, I don't think we have the time to sit around and worry about, "Do we have enough time?" We just need to jump into the fray and get down to the work/organizing as we go along. We can't wait for an "opening" or a pause in the assault on our civil liberties. There's too many lives and a planet's ecosystem at stake. We need to forget the idiots in charge and work around them the best we can while simultaneously taking the corrupt system down. It's a monumental task, but what is our alternative?
(And what do we say to our children/grandchildren if we don't do everything we can today to save our planet? "Sorry, but we didn't think you and your generation were worth all the fuss"? No, we just get down to work and help others experience a revolution of the mind so that the revolution of the system can follow.)
I completely agree. I think this often when I think about my child's future. My mind's revolution happened long ago. Maybe a better way to put it would be my mind has been in the state of revolution for a long time. Either way, I am ready to start action, but I do not know where to put that action into constructive use since I am not an organizer or writer. I haven't had time, but I will read through the other comments and replies in this thread because I'm sure you have answered this for others. Thank you for your time and patience in your responses.
If we can change the hearts and minds of the common people, we will change the world. All this fuss about who owns what and global denomination is just a smokescreen for insecure idiots like Trump and company. Put the people's interests first and the rest should follow.
Global domination is a smokescreen. It's just a reason the oligarchs give for endless wars and endless resource grabs. They want these immoral conflicts to sound "patriotic" and "nationalistic," but it's mostly just to cover their selfish greed. The common people really need to put their own interests first so they know what they're fighting for and whom they're fighting against.
They have different slogans for different audiences.For the so called common people,they play to their patriotism.For intellectuals,idealists and moralists—or some combination of the theee—they put a noble sounding humanitarian slogan into play.Works every time.Always has,always will.
Those slogans can be very catchy. It's no wonder that the first book written on marketing and public relations by Edward Bernays was called "Propaganda."
I hadn't seen this video before. Neil brings up a lot of points about revolution serving the wealthy and powerful and not the poor, but he's sitting in a lovely living room filled with nice artwork and an expensive podcasting set-up. Irony? And he says he believes Joseph McCarthy and that there were Communist spies everywhere in 1950s US like that would be a bad thing. He sounds more like a neoliberal type to me. He's not experienced a revolution of the mind yet, IMO. (Very telling is that YT brings up a lot of other neoliberal podcast suggestions after the video ends.)
We all hear and see differently, so we take from others only what we interpret.
Neil is an elegant speaker. I'm no disciple of his, but I think he makes two very key points in this video monologue:
So long as the system is working for you, so long as you're not disenfranchised, it's easy to ignore the suffering of those on the outside. Willful ignorance reinforces our strongholds. But when you find yourself on the outside, well, then it's time to tear it down.
Revolutions destroy not only structures and institutions; they also destroy evidence, histories of crimes. Most treacherously, they provide the surviving elites, and the newly crowned ones, with the means and knowledge to better deceive and enslave the masses.
Yes, Neil’s monologues are made from the comfort of a cozy home. He's a smart fellow, they all are, just as, say, Tucker Carlson is. They all know that aesthetics are paramount, we are forever seeking the comfort and safety of a settled mind. Neither Neil, Tucker, nor any other popular commentator delivers their monologues with a disturbing background.
The elites learned during the Vietnam War to separate the sights from the sound and the most popular voices ensure their words can't be easily questioned or challenged. the masses have got "Pay to have a Say"
You say this about revolutions, that they destroy the evidence of crimes and that
"They provide the surviving elites, and the newly crowned ones, with the means and knowledge to better deceive and enslave the masses."
I would argue that what you've called a "revolution" isn't one if it doesn't take out ALL the elites and doesn't "crown" anyone. If the workers/proletariat aren't the ones in charge working in a democratic fashion, then a revolution has not occurred. This, of course, means that there have been zero true revolutions in the history of humankind. It's high time we all worked for a REAL REVOLUTION and not a faux or pseudo-revolution that just substitutes some elitist like the czar with a authoritarian dictator, for example. A true revolution would rid us of all corruption and nurture democracy, not fascism.
I was sharing my observations of Neil`s commentary, not specifically my own.
I do not contest that there have been revolutions; the definition of the construct is a well-accepted norm. But yes, I do question whether any so-called revolution has ever brought meaningful change to our civilizations.
Pete Townshend of The Who said it better than I ever could:
“Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss.”
I do agree that we desperately need revolution, but not the kind that destroys just to rebuild, not the kind that vilifies and scapegoats those we ourselves nurtured and allowed to rule over us. I do not want the kind that simply installs our next demigod.
I want a revolution of conscience, a revolution that removes our blindfolds and enables us to see one another as equals, never as superiors.
I want a revolution that revolts against our own hypocrisy, not just that of “the system,” because we are the system. A revolution where we truly practice what we preach, and where the principles enshrined in our laws, constitutions, and declarations of human rights are more than just words on paper.
You left out something huge--most revolutions are violent and leave behind the same system with a different group of thugs dominating the government. THAT'S why they are frowned on--along with the fact that they do not benefit the ruling class. I think of a Cuban man I met at a bus stop in Seattle in 1999, just as the WTO was breaking down without an agreement. "Real revolutions are an ugly thing," he said. "I don't want to see another one. But I'm afraid the way things are going we're going to have one in this country." It's up for argument whether the fact that we have not had a revolution since then is worse...what it comes down to is that we need a much more PROFOUND revolution than any since Jesus tried to start one--we need a revolution of the mind, in the whole culture, not to change which group dominates and rips off the rest but to jettison the whole cultural underpinning of domination. Domination of women by men, lower classes by upper classes, and above all, other living things by humans. If we can't pull the switch on this domination machine, humans may well be extinct by the turn of the century as we passed the red lights and sirens a long time ago on climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution with forever chemicals like plastic and PFAS--and the response of the tiny group with all the power has been to fund denial of the problem, dismantle the rule of law, and create systems of universal surveillance that will be all set up when the real revolution begins. They are building the Panopticon now where all the data scraped from government agencies by the Muskrats will be combined with what they get from social media and cellphone tracking, so they can quickly determine who needs to be killed to prevent a real revolution when they build the walled cities where the elite live and hoard the remaining resources. We can blame the MAGA crowd for putting this extremist gang in power--but as the best bit in this post shows, the top Dems are all in on this, they just prefer to let the repubs pass the laws that push us further into fascism, while they pretend to oppose it till they're in power.
Nicely said! "...We need a much more PROFOUND revolution than any since Jesus tried to start one--we need a revolution of the mind, in the whole culture, not to change which group dominates and rips off the rest but to jettison the whole cultural underpinning of domination."
That's exactly why the "first revolution" must be within the heart, soul and mind of individuals before it can grow and blossom into the wider world... Once we've rid ourselves of this need to dominate each other, then we will have discovered true democracy and freedom, IMO.
I've learned to speed read! I share links because not everyone has time to find the information online that they should know and can't be found on the mainstream media outlets.
Excellent article! You have given me a bit of needed hope. I've been playing with the idea of revolution in the US in my mind, and I see a country so brainwashed and divided that I see us resembling a powder keg with ball bearings in it. Who knows what will be the outcome if bloody revolution ignites since there are so many divisions within the population. Who would end up in power? How many pieces will this country be broken into? What happens to the Nukes? What are the chances that a socialist ideology would be able to take over considering the epic propaganda machine, more than a hundred years old, which has relentlessly bombarded us with capitalist propaganda?
I think you are definitely on to something by bringing up this bipartisan control mechanism. Perhaps the best way to control some of these factors is by destroying the death duopoly in control. Perhaps by creating 1, if not 2, left wing parties that significantly weaken the control of the the 2 existing right wing parties. If neither party has control of the steering wheel, then maybe a revolution can be a way for workers to break the endless cycles of violence.
The "death duopoly" has got to go away soon--there's no doubt about it. It was created/crafted/co-opted by the oligarchy to be the control mechanism of the US working class, and slowly the workers are discovering that they've been used and misled to think the "two major parties" are their only options. Forming stronger alternative parties on the left would help break through the brainwashing, IMO. When the "scales fall from their eyes" and Americans of all persuasions see the true nature of their government and the corrupt system that has maintained and reinforced it, then we'll be experiencing the "first revolution" of the mind and the second revolution of re-forming and reordering the system to become one of democracy and morality can begin. It will be hard work and it won't be easy, but it doesn't necessarily have to be bloody or messy--look at the "Velvet Revolution" of Czechoslovakia in 1989. But we need everyone to experience that revolution of the mind and see the world clearly first.
I think the bigggest concern on my mind is do we have enough time to do the amount of organizing that is necessary? The idiots in charge and the bigger idiots they surround themselves with all want war with nuclear states. Big tech is turning privacy into a relic of the past. The environment is collapsing around us. These are some of the biggest reasons for change, but it is also the biggest reasons we may not be able to get there.
Honestly, I don't think we have the time to sit around and worry about, "Do we have enough time?" We just need to jump into the fray and get down to the work/organizing as we go along. We can't wait for an "opening" or a pause in the assault on our civil liberties. There's too many lives and a planet's ecosystem at stake. We need to forget the idiots in charge and work around them the best we can while simultaneously taking the corrupt system down. It's a monumental task, but what is our alternative?
(And what do we say to our children/grandchildren if we don't do everything we can today to save our planet? "Sorry, but we didn't think you and your generation were worth all the fuss"? No, we just get down to work and help others experience a revolution of the mind so that the revolution of the system can follow.)
I completely agree. I think this often when I think about my child's future. My mind's revolution happened long ago. Maybe a better way to put it would be my mind has been in the state of revolution for a long time. Either way, I am ready to start action, but I do not know where to put that action into constructive use since I am not an organizer or writer. I haven't had time, but I will read through the other comments and replies in this thread because I'm sure you have answered this for others. Thank you for your time and patience in your responses.
If we can change the hearts and minds of the common people, we will change the world. All this fuss about who owns what and global denomination is just a smokescreen for insecure idiots like Trump and company. Put the people's interests first and the rest should follow.
Global domination is a smokescreen. It's just a reason the oligarchs give for endless wars and endless resource grabs. They want these immoral conflicts to sound "patriotic" and "nationalistic," but it's mostly just to cover their selfish greed. The common people really need to put their own interests first so they know what they're fighting for and whom they're fighting against.
They have different slogans for different audiences.For the so called common people,they play to their patriotism.For intellectuals,idealists and moralists—or some combination of the theee—they put a noble sounding humanitarian slogan into play.Works every time.Always has,always will.
Those slogans can be very catchy. It's no wonder that the first book written on marketing and public relations by Edward Bernays was called "Propaganda."
Amazing, made a comment then this came up on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JuhbKSfrY8&t=208s
I hadn't seen this video before. Neil brings up a lot of points about revolution serving the wealthy and powerful and not the poor, but he's sitting in a lovely living room filled with nice artwork and an expensive podcasting set-up. Irony? And he says he believes Joseph McCarthy and that there were Communist spies everywhere in 1950s US like that would be a bad thing. He sounds more like a neoliberal type to me. He's not experienced a revolution of the mind yet, IMO. (Very telling is that YT brings up a lot of other neoliberal podcast suggestions after the video ends.)
We all hear and see differently, so we take from others only what we interpret.
Neil is an elegant speaker. I'm no disciple of his, but I think he makes two very key points in this video monologue:
So long as the system is working for you, so long as you're not disenfranchised, it's easy to ignore the suffering of those on the outside. Willful ignorance reinforces our strongholds. But when you find yourself on the outside, well, then it's time to tear it down.
Revolutions destroy not only structures and institutions; they also destroy evidence, histories of crimes. Most treacherously, they provide the surviving elites, and the newly crowned ones, with the means and knowledge to better deceive and enslave the masses.
Yes, Neil’s monologues are made from the comfort of a cozy home. He's a smart fellow, they all are, just as, say, Tucker Carlson is. They all know that aesthetics are paramount, we are forever seeking the comfort and safety of a settled mind. Neither Neil, Tucker, nor any other popular commentator delivers their monologues with a disturbing background.
The elites learned during the Vietnam War to separate the sights from the sound and the most popular voices ensure their words can't be easily questioned or challenged. the masses have got "Pay to have a Say"
You say this about revolutions, that they destroy the evidence of crimes and that
"They provide the surviving elites, and the newly crowned ones, with the means and knowledge to better deceive and enslave the masses."
I would argue that what you've called a "revolution" isn't one if it doesn't take out ALL the elites and doesn't "crown" anyone. If the workers/proletariat aren't the ones in charge working in a democratic fashion, then a revolution has not occurred. This, of course, means that there have been zero true revolutions in the history of humankind. It's high time we all worked for a REAL REVOLUTION and not a faux or pseudo-revolution that just substitutes some elitist like the czar with a authoritarian dictator, for example. A true revolution would rid us of all corruption and nurture democracy, not fascism.
I was sharing my observations of Neil`s commentary, not specifically my own.
I do not contest that there have been revolutions; the definition of the construct is a well-accepted norm. But yes, I do question whether any so-called revolution has ever brought meaningful change to our civilizations.
Pete Townshend of The Who said it better than I ever could:
“Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss.”
I do agree that we desperately need revolution, but not the kind that destroys just to rebuild, not the kind that vilifies and scapegoats those we ourselves nurtured and allowed to rule over us. I do not want the kind that simply installs our next demigod.
I want a revolution of conscience, a revolution that removes our blindfolds and enables us to see one another as equals, never as superiors.
I want a revolution that revolts against our own hypocrisy, not just that of “the system,” because we are the system. A revolution where we truly practice what we preach, and where the principles enshrined in our laws, constitutions, and declarations of human rights are more than just words on paper.
The Revolution Is an Illusion
Well, now even the Christians are worried ,
now that churches in Gaza are being bombed.
Well, doesn’t this put the cherry on the cake
they whipped up decades ago.
No, the revolution will not be televised.
No, it will not be live-streamed.
No, it will not arrive in your town,
nor anywhere in Palestine.
But the genocide is being televised.
The war crimes are live-streamed daily.
And the plague of banality has infected us all
Revolutions are not born of posts,
likes, retweets, or monthly membership fees.
Revolutions are forged in the hearts of the fearless,
who defend the oppressed with their body and their soul
No, a revolution will never take root,
not in the cold hearts of men
long dead to the agony of their fellow man.
Nice poem! I love this line:
Revolutions are forged in the hearts of the fearless, who defend the oppressed with their body and their soul
Revolutions are definitely metaphysical more than physical.
You left out something huge--most revolutions are violent and leave behind the same system with a different group of thugs dominating the government. THAT'S why they are frowned on--along with the fact that they do not benefit the ruling class. I think of a Cuban man I met at a bus stop in Seattle in 1999, just as the WTO was breaking down without an agreement. "Real revolutions are an ugly thing," he said. "I don't want to see another one. But I'm afraid the way things are going we're going to have one in this country." It's up for argument whether the fact that we have not had a revolution since then is worse...what it comes down to is that we need a much more PROFOUND revolution than any since Jesus tried to start one--we need a revolution of the mind, in the whole culture, not to change which group dominates and rips off the rest but to jettison the whole cultural underpinning of domination. Domination of women by men, lower classes by upper classes, and above all, other living things by humans. If we can't pull the switch on this domination machine, humans may well be extinct by the turn of the century as we passed the red lights and sirens a long time ago on climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution with forever chemicals like plastic and PFAS--and the response of the tiny group with all the power has been to fund denial of the problem, dismantle the rule of law, and create systems of universal surveillance that will be all set up when the real revolution begins. They are building the Panopticon now where all the data scraped from government agencies by the Muskrats will be combined with what they get from social media and cellphone tracking, so they can quickly determine who needs to be killed to prevent a real revolution when they build the walled cities where the elite live and hoard the remaining resources. We can blame the MAGA crowd for putting this extremist gang in power--but as the best bit in this post shows, the top Dems are all in on this, they just prefer to let the repubs pass the laws that push us further into fascism, while they pretend to oppose it till they're in power.
Nicely said! "...We need a much more PROFOUND revolution than any since Jesus tried to start one--we need a revolution of the mind, in the whole culture, not to change which group dominates and rips off the rest but to jettison the whole cultural underpinning of domination."
That's exactly why the "first revolution" must be within the heart, soul and mind of individuals before it can grow and blossom into the wider world... Once we've rid ourselves of this need to dominate each other, then we will have discovered true democracy and freedom, IMO.
Great list of supplementary reading...where does one find the time?
I've learned to speed read! I share links because not everyone has time to find the information online that they should know and can't be found on the mainstream media outlets.
Excellent article! You have given me a bit of needed hope. I've been playing with the idea of revolution in the US in my mind, and I see a country so brainwashed and divided that I see us resembling a powder keg with ball bearings in it. Who knows what will be the outcome if bloody revolution ignites since there are so many divisions within the population. Who would end up in power? How many pieces will this country be broken into? What happens to the Nukes? What are the chances that a socialist ideology would be able to take over considering the epic propaganda machine, more than a hundred years old, which has relentlessly bombarded us with capitalist propaganda?
I think you are definitely on to something by bringing up this bipartisan control mechanism. Perhaps the best way to control some of these factors is by destroying the death duopoly in control. Perhaps by creating 1, if not 2, left wing parties that significantly weaken the control of the the 2 existing right wing parties. If neither party has control of the steering wheel, then maybe a revolution can be a way for workers to break the endless cycles of violence.
The "death duopoly" has got to go away soon--there's no doubt about it. It was created/crafted/co-opted by the oligarchy to be the control mechanism of the US working class, and slowly the workers are discovering that they've been used and misled to think the "two major parties" are their only options. Forming stronger alternative parties on the left would help break through the brainwashing, IMO. When the "scales fall from their eyes" and Americans of all persuasions see the true nature of their government and the corrupt system that has maintained and reinforced it, then we'll be experiencing the "first revolution" of the mind and the second revolution of re-forming and reordering the system to become one of democracy and morality can begin. It will be hard work and it won't be easy, but it doesn't necessarily have to be bloody or messy--look at the "Velvet Revolution" of Czechoslovakia in 1989. But we need everyone to experience that revolution of the mind and see the world clearly first.