When aboard a sinking ship, or one that is listing dangerously, frequently the order is given to jettison all unnecessary baggage and cargo. This is a last ditch attempt to reduce the displacement, (weight) of the hull and contents by unburdening your vessel. If there can be enough thrown overboard, the craft might be able to be limped into port or otherwise salvaged. In the event that the craft does not survive afloat, the remaining material that floats on the surface after the wreck sinks is known as flotsam.
I have written on this interesting pairing of words before, but since the United States of America's recent Presidential election, perhaps it is time to revisit them. There are many, around our great nation who have been feeling, I believe inappropriately, but by design; like their lives and lifestyles are "under threat". some of this has been pre-designed through decades of victim mentality. Back as far as Phil Donohue and early television confessional/confrontational type shows, the globe has been scoured, for deplorables whose lives had crashed because of their proclivities. We even have judgemental "cases" brought to collective attention at many times higher rates than have ever occurred in the general population. It has been said that some people were just actors who wanted a free trip to be on Montel or Jerry Springer, so they would just play the parts of immoral or unethical folks to keep the ratings up. The vast, vast majority of people are good...they are never featured on the tee vee.
So, our ship of state has become unstable, would it not be wise to unload the burden of this victim mentality? We are awash in trumped up rhetoric that says we are "under attack", but the real harm comes from pouring money, resources and energy into destruction. The way that we really are victims is reliant on us continuing to consume corporate media.
This blog has existed all along as a free service to humanity. The numbers of readers who ever clicked on the "donate" button has been slim, but I must point out the fact that it has been a part of this blog since day one. We stand in opposition to the corporate media, I still believe that without a functioning fourth Estate, there can be no democracy, and that is by design as well. When you pare down the ship of state to it's hull only, the keel is the direction the vessel heads. It is laid by the "laws of the land", the ethos that informs the citizenry. The essence of national or global pride, exists in this ethical framework. Because we feel buoyed along the timeline of history be the cohesion and prime rib of our vessel. The ribs are established in my nation, The U. S. of America, by the great documents, the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. They give shape to our ship of state and help us to stay true to our founders intent. The planks, which keep the water out are like the policies enacted into law and the judicial reigns on power. The executive branch, ideally is like the packing between the planks, by filling in the gaps, perhaps, they fulfill the most important role. Without the executive branch, the ship of state would founder and be useless to anyone. The President himself is in the position of a Captain, but must have their messages publicized by the media. That becomes difficult when your buffoonery and lack of intellect or cohesive plans riddle the vessel.
Additionally, the fourth estate, independent media, is like an aid to the captain, unable to make the ship do anything, unless We the People fall in and make the "commands" so. The President can lead only by bully pulpit and through inspiring the people to fund the means for change, without the news reaching the citizens, and reaching them clearly in ways they can understand, there is no one motivated to push Congress to send any bills up to the Executive. The role of the media, at the time of the founding fathers, was posted as bills or read aloud at taverns (the faceboook of their day). Today, corporate welfare recipients and the oligarchs have tailored those messages to bear almost no resemblance to reality in and around America. The massive protests and outrage of the water protectors, the 99% movement, the Rainbows, for generations before, the flood of people returning to the land all want more and better and the fourth estate that I envision will speak to the better angels of our nature. Publicize what is going right around the world. The millions of good deeds and inspirational works that take place all around us all the time...
We the People were always the captains of our own destiny, or at least crew. We just forget sometimes, or are made to feel like victims. It takes a more mature nation to understand this and to act on making necessary changes for a nation to grow up. We have been acting like a spoiled brat increasingly addicted to a dangerous substance. This has a parallel in our larger culture as well. Fossil energy is dead, science has proven the efficacy of renewable energy sources and solved the storage problem as well. One more thing to be jettisoned. If we are to keep this ship of state afloat, we will need far more cohesive ideas and concepts floated amongst the American public. We have rallied before. The tribe of people coming of age today are the baby boom of the baby boom and they are not taking shit any longer. more young people than ever are demanding change, but not the kind based on turning the clocks back fifty years. we the People are intent on stepping into better directions and as long as we do not have an inspired leader, a statesperson and a diplomat, at the helm, we will founder as a nation.
To keep things afloat, now, more than ever, we have to throw overboard as many useless parts of our lives as possible. The energy suckers, the time wasters, the unwise habits and policies that are a drain on our society. I know that i have redoubled my efforts to make the Earth more stable, more productive and more supportive of healthy life than it was before my lifetime. Many others are doing the same thing. We all need to share our expertise and experiences so that others can learn the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are required to make these same changes as well. In the early days of the ecological movement, we had teach-ins, today we can google instructions on how do do most anything!
If we can get rid of enough useless stuff, we may yet be able to salvage what is left that is affirming, and life supporting. If, on the other hand, we cling to that which we have been told, the lies of the oligarchs, we can only receive the wrath of the "bust" after they are done collecting the abundance of the "boom" I have written on boom and bust economies before as well and we are caught in a place between hard and harder. Most of the nation has been plowed over and is now bust. The few remaining booms are running dangerously out of steam. The next big thing is probably to get small. If we don't negotiate the next decade with deft precision, far too many pitfalls exist to avoid. There will be some flotsam from failed industries, but nearly everywhere there is waste, it is a possibility for something to arise anew, transforming that waste into abundance as well.
I have written on this interesting pairing of words before, but since the United States of America's recent Presidential election, perhaps it is time to revisit them. There are many, around our great nation who have been feeling, I believe inappropriately, but by design; like their lives and lifestyles are "under threat". some of this has been pre-designed through decades of victim mentality. Back as far as Phil Donohue and early television confessional/confrontational type shows, the globe has been scoured, for deplorables whose lives had crashed because of their proclivities. We even have judgemental "cases" brought to collective attention at many times higher rates than have ever occurred in the general population. It has been said that some people were just actors who wanted a free trip to be on Montel or Jerry Springer, so they would just play the parts of immoral or unethical folks to keep the ratings up. The vast, vast majority of people are good...they are never featured on the tee vee.
So, our ship of state has become unstable, would it not be wise to unload the burden of this victim mentality? We are awash in trumped up rhetoric that says we are "under attack", but the real harm comes from pouring money, resources and energy into destruction. The way that we really are victims is reliant on us continuing to consume corporate media.
This blog has existed all along as a free service to humanity. The numbers of readers who ever clicked on the "donate" button has been slim, but I must point out the fact that it has been a part of this blog since day one. We stand in opposition to the corporate media, I still believe that without a functioning fourth Estate, there can be no democracy, and that is by design as well. When you pare down the ship of state to it's hull only, the keel is the direction the vessel heads. It is laid by the "laws of the land", the ethos that informs the citizenry. The essence of national or global pride, exists in this ethical framework. Because we feel buoyed along the timeline of history be the cohesion and prime rib of our vessel. The ribs are established in my nation, The U. S. of America, by the great documents, the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. They give shape to our ship of state and help us to stay true to our founders intent. The planks, which keep the water out are like the policies enacted into law and the judicial reigns on power. The executive branch, ideally is like the packing between the planks, by filling in the gaps, perhaps, they fulfill the most important role. Without the executive branch, the ship of state would founder and be useless to anyone. The President himself is in the position of a Captain, but must have their messages publicized by the media. That becomes difficult when your buffoonery and lack of intellect or cohesive plans riddle the vessel.
Additionally, the fourth estate, independent media, is like an aid to the captain, unable to make the ship do anything, unless We the People fall in and make the "commands" so. The President can lead only by bully pulpit and through inspiring the people to fund the means for change, without the news reaching the citizens, and reaching them clearly in ways they can understand, there is no one motivated to push Congress to send any bills up to the Executive. The role of the media, at the time of the founding fathers, was posted as bills or read aloud at taverns (the faceboook of their day). Today, corporate welfare recipients and the oligarchs have tailored those messages to bear almost no resemblance to reality in and around America. The massive protests and outrage of the water protectors, the 99% movement, the Rainbows, for generations before, the flood of people returning to the land all want more and better and the fourth estate that I envision will speak to the better angels of our nature. Publicize what is going right around the world. The millions of good deeds and inspirational works that take place all around us all the time...
We the People were always the captains of our own destiny, or at least crew. We just forget sometimes, or are made to feel like victims. It takes a more mature nation to understand this and to act on making necessary changes for a nation to grow up. We have been acting like a spoiled brat increasingly addicted to a dangerous substance. This has a parallel in our larger culture as well. Fossil energy is dead, science has proven the efficacy of renewable energy sources and solved the storage problem as well. One more thing to be jettisoned. If we are to keep this ship of state afloat, we will need far more cohesive ideas and concepts floated amongst the American public. We have rallied before. The tribe of people coming of age today are the baby boom of the baby boom and they are not taking shit any longer. more young people than ever are demanding change, but not the kind based on turning the clocks back fifty years. we the People are intent on stepping into better directions and as long as we do not have an inspired leader, a statesperson and a diplomat, at the helm, we will founder as a nation.
To keep things afloat, now, more than ever, we have to throw overboard as many useless parts of our lives as possible. The energy suckers, the time wasters, the unwise habits and policies that are a drain on our society. I know that i have redoubled my efforts to make the Earth more stable, more productive and more supportive of healthy life than it was before my lifetime. Many others are doing the same thing. We all need to share our expertise and experiences so that others can learn the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are required to make these same changes as well. In the early days of the ecological movement, we had teach-ins, today we can google instructions on how do do most anything!
If we can get rid of enough useless stuff, we may yet be able to salvage what is left that is affirming, and life supporting. If, on the other hand, we cling to that which we have been told, the lies of the oligarchs, we can only receive the wrath of the "bust" after they are done collecting the abundance of the "boom" I have written on boom and bust economies before as well and we are caught in a place between hard and harder. Most of the nation has been plowed over and is now bust. The few remaining booms are running dangerously out of steam. The next big thing is probably to get small. If we don't negotiate the next decade with deft precision, far too many pitfalls exist to avoid. There will be some flotsam from failed industries, but nearly everywhere there is waste, it is a possibility for something to arise anew, transforming that waste into abundance as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment