I have been appointed as a cabinet member of Wisconsin's shadow government. Before you get thinking too far down the track that the term shadow conveys something nefarious or underhanded, let me just say that those who profess to run the show today are the ones who are operating from dark and dismal motives, perpetrating a litany of evil deeds upon the populace and operating in closed door sessions (out of the light of day) to subvert our democracy. I have not even had a chance to meet all of the other representatives of our shadow leadership, however, the fact that they are willing to serve without pay, work for the betterment of all the citizens of our state and to do it with compassion, insight and integrity is enough for me to know that when we actually meet in person, the others will be friends that I have not met yet. The only reason that the term shadow government has meaning is when we understand that the glaring inequality of the current system necessitates stark shadows exist as well. My own approach to perception of the term is that most of us cannot look directly at the lights that illuminate our current state of affairs, nor would we want to blind ourselves in that way. When we attend to the shadow side of the searing lights, we find operators that are most often hidden, behind the glare, who only guide the eyes of those who most often let themselves be led by "Oooh, shiny."
The photo below represents the urge to sanitize and distract us from our own history. It is a bronze-clean version of a coal miner, forged for the sole purpose of trying to make wage slaves into heroes. The anonymous "workers" who sacrifice their lives for our consumerist society deserve more than a sculpture to tell their sad story. Early death, families without fathers and poisoned rivers, contaminated by acid mine drainage are much more telling aspects of our/their servitude. The mall has now closed, the mountaintop left abandoned because the poverty in the coal region did not allow enough wealth to be siphoned off for the power and control freaks making the decisions as well as the money from the "development". Local citizens sacrificed another mountain to feed the beast, but the hunger was too great and the oligarchs walked away, unsatisfied, leaving destruction, and even greater poverty in their wake. The uberwealthy have made sure that they will never be held responsible for their folly, nor will we be allowed to know the true costs of their parasitic ways until it is too late and they have moved on to their next host.
The eye is drawn to the light, as surely as the insect is drawn to fire. We use our eyes, most frequently, to make sense of our world. Members of the shadow government of Wisconsin will have to understand that much of what we cannot see has more power to change our lives than most people can imagine. Not seeing things cannot make them go away and not looking at the writing on the wall only assures that our decision-makers are operating our economy, the environment and the future blind. In a strange turn of events, they have begun to believe their own lies. Trickle-down theory was mentioned just this morning in a "news" broadcast. The wealthiest among us have a vested interest in telling us that it is a real and beneficial thing but what the lie truly exhibits for we, who look deeply into the shadow side, is that our rulers still have not come to terms with the ultimate outcome of letting the rich have their way with everything.
Instead of corporate shills, willing to pander to our wealthy lords, the shadow government is made up of individuals who have kept their moral footing amongst immoral choices and actions of the media, our judiciary, the constabulary, the billionaire class, those who advocate for dumbing down our population and those who have our economy in a stranglehold. We will be researching a better way forward, we will be continuing to expose the Chinese finger trap that is the "consumerist society" which we have been presented and we will be unleashing, to the greatest extent possible, the truth behind the lies of the oligarchs through press releases, documentary evidence and sculpting, for the general public, a creative tableau that will make clear what has been going on in the dimly lit corridors of power that have taken the will of the people out of the hands of government and placed it squarely in the hands of the unimaginably wealthy.
Over the next two years, we will be seeing far more willful groundwater contamination, at the hands of the extractors, who have no regard for our ecology or the results of their actions. We will be seeing more train derailments and pipeline ruptures, unleashing oil spills along the path of least resistance for dirtier oil. The fabric of our economy will continue to fray and the shadow government will continue to research not only the continued state of decay, but advocate policies that can stem the flow of toxic chemicals into the environment. We will attempt to move public opinion in ways that help us recover from the spiraling death throes of our military industrial complex and with skill and a bit of luck, we will help guide the conversation toward the knowledge that our debates, even the terms of our debates have been driven by those who abhor change, reap the benefits of inaction and sap the vitality of workers for their own benefit. We all are coming to understand that even the most free amongst the 99% are wage slaves. The vast majority of us are given untenable choices and there are ways to move the discussion away from merely "us" vs. "them".
My own special interest is in "sustainability" and as such, my work will be in the area of sustainable development, agriculture and broadening the discussion on the issue of education. Instead of stealing elections and making excuses for the schism between public opinion and the outcomes of stolen elections, our shadow government will continue to focus on what works. The sham system that has been created to keep us in servitude is no longer working and instead of the subversion of democratic processes, your shadow government will act as both pressure relief valve, for those who have reached the end of their desire to participate and healing salve for those who know that there exists a far better way to meet the needs of greater numbers through love, the sharing economy, abundance theory and equitable distribution of the fruits of our labor. We welcome questions, participation and information designed to further this discussion.
The photo below represents the urge to sanitize and distract us from our own history. It is a bronze-clean version of a coal miner, forged for the sole purpose of trying to make wage slaves into heroes. The anonymous "workers" who sacrifice their lives for our consumerist society deserve more than a sculpture to tell their sad story. Early death, families without fathers and poisoned rivers, contaminated by acid mine drainage are much more telling aspects of our/their servitude. The mall has now closed, the mountaintop left abandoned because the poverty in the coal region did not allow enough wealth to be siphoned off for the power and control freaks making the decisions as well as the money from the "development". Local citizens sacrificed another mountain to feed the beast, but the hunger was too great and the oligarchs walked away, unsatisfied, leaving destruction, and even greater poverty in their wake. The uberwealthy have made sure that they will never be held responsible for their folly, nor will we be allowed to know the true costs of their parasitic ways until it is too late and they have moved on to their next host.
 |
| I took this photo in a brand-new mall in the coal region of PA. The mall had not been opened yet, but the mountain which it capped with concrete, steel and blacktop had been pulverized and lowered several dozen feet to get enough fill to level the parking lot, build the entrance and exit ramps for easy access from the interstate and for the enrichment of "developers" who only had one thought in mind, extraction. |
The eye is drawn to the light, as surely as the insect is drawn to fire. We use our eyes, most frequently, to make sense of our world. Members of the shadow government of Wisconsin will have to understand that much of what we cannot see has more power to change our lives than most people can imagine. Not seeing things cannot make them go away and not looking at the writing on the wall only assures that our decision-makers are operating our economy, the environment and the future blind. In a strange turn of events, they have begun to believe their own lies. Trickle-down theory was mentioned just this morning in a "news" broadcast. The wealthiest among us have a vested interest in telling us that it is a real and beneficial thing but what the lie truly exhibits for we, who look deeply into the shadow side, is that our rulers still have not come to terms with the ultimate outcome of letting the rich have their way with everything.
Instead of corporate shills, willing to pander to our wealthy lords, the shadow government is made up of individuals who have kept their moral footing amongst immoral choices and actions of the media, our judiciary, the constabulary, the billionaire class, those who advocate for dumbing down our population and those who have our economy in a stranglehold. We will be researching a better way forward, we will be continuing to expose the Chinese finger trap that is the "consumerist society" which we have been presented and we will be unleashing, to the greatest extent possible, the truth behind the lies of the oligarchs through press releases, documentary evidence and sculpting, for the general public, a creative tableau that will make clear what has been going on in the dimly lit corridors of power that have taken the will of the people out of the hands of government and placed it squarely in the hands of the unimaginably wealthy.
Over the next two years, we will be seeing far more willful groundwater contamination, at the hands of the extractors, who have no regard for our ecology or the results of their actions. We will be seeing more train derailments and pipeline ruptures, unleashing oil spills along the path of least resistance for dirtier oil. The fabric of our economy will continue to fray and the shadow government will continue to research not only the continued state of decay, but advocate policies that can stem the flow of toxic chemicals into the environment. We will attempt to move public opinion in ways that help us recover from the spiraling death throes of our military industrial complex and with skill and a bit of luck, we will help guide the conversation toward the knowledge that our debates, even the terms of our debates have been driven by those who abhor change, reap the benefits of inaction and sap the vitality of workers for their own benefit. We all are coming to understand that even the most free amongst the 99% are wage slaves. The vast majority of us are given untenable choices and there are ways to move the discussion away from merely "us" vs. "them".
My own special interest is in "sustainability" and as such, my work will be in the area of sustainable development, agriculture and broadening the discussion on the issue of education. Instead of stealing elections and making excuses for the schism between public opinion and the outcomes of stolen elections, our shadow government will continue to focus on what works. The sham system that has been created to keep us in servitude is no longer working and instead of the subversion of democratic processes, your shadow government will act as both pressure relief valve, for those who have reached the end of their desire to participate and healing salve for those who know that there exists a far better way to meet the needs of greater numbers through love, the sharing economy, abundance theory and equitable distribution of the fruits of our labor. We welcome questions, participation and information designed to further this discussion.
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