Before we entertain the notion that it is possible for average citizens to address the nation's problems, the most important step is to define the root causes of those problems.
It took decades of hard work and dedication by the "business activist" movement to help bring about the current situation in the United States, but they have largely succeeded in their goals.
Their focused and strategic approach helped turn the entire system of government into a tool used to extract profit from the population and from the environment.
From that decades-old process we now have a power structure and a power elite that consists of moneyed business cartels and a subservient political class (that has been co-opted/corrupted by financial incentives or payoffs from the business cartels).
It is because of this arrangement that during the last several years there has been a clear pattern of legislative steps (across the country) meant to first take down the proper regulatory framework that has been established to protect citizens from the effects of monopolistic/oligopolistic business cartels, second, strip citizens of protections against predatory business practices and of constitutional rights, and third (which is the ultimate aim), to extract the maximum amount of productivity/profit from the population and from the environment.
To illustrate this point, let me use one recent example, as reported by The San Francisco Chronicle: "Bills seek end to farm animal abuse videos"
Some bills make it illegal to take photographs at a farming operation. Others make it a crime for someone such as an animal welfare advocate to lie on an application to get a job at a plant.
Bills pending in California, Nebraska and Tennessee require that anyone collecting evidence of abuse turn it over to law enforcement within 24 to 48 hours - which advocates say does not allow enough time to document illegal activity under federal humane handling and food safety laws.
This is an interesting bill since it touches on different areas being targeted by the business cartels and their lackeys in government, including the role of whistlerblowers, social justice and anti-corruption activism, and investigative journalism.
Formal opposition to the California bill comes from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Teamsters, the U.S. Humane Society and dozens of others. They say these attempts by the agriculture industry to stop investigations are a part of a nationwide agenda set by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative think tank backed by business interests.
The council has labeled those who interfere with animal operations "terrorists," though a spokesman said he wishes now that the organization had called its legislation the Freedom to Farm Act rather than the Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act.
This pattern is
repeating itself with increased speed all around the country, with these business cartels actually writing thousands of bills which in the final analysis are meant to undermine the economic security of average citizens, and chip away at our constitutional protections.
This approach, of course, is brutally efficient. It's a well-oiled machine which if you use your imagination a bit, you can actually hear its swirling gears locking into place an increasingly fascistic system, or Corporate State.
So, here's the thing... There is a bit of both, good news, and bad news about this situation. The good news is that not too long ago anybody pointing out these issues was instantly labeled a conspiracy theorist. Not anymore. This is remarkable, in my opinion. There is a significant segment of the population that has come to understand these dynamics--and that is very good news, indeed.
The bad news is that the window of opportunity to mount a real challenge to the imposition of an increasingly oppressive system is closing very fast (as ALEC and ALEC-like business cartels continue to draft thousands of bills across the country), and that there seems to be a reflexive rejection by those who are aware of the situation to the concept of becoming highly organized against these undemocratic forces.
This to me is both, a very interesting anthropological observation, and extremely perplexing, since it would not take that much effort to mount a credible counteroffensive if those who have come to the realization of what's going on would unite in solidarity against these nefarious forces.
There is a meme that's starting to spread in certain (activists) circles, which says that we may be on the verge of a global awakening facilitated by information technology (social media, etc.), which helps spread ideas and information at lighting speed, globally.
I happen to believe that there is a very big possibility that this will indeed happen.
And I think the catalyst that will bring about the tipping point will be when people realize that all they had to do was to first understand the actual state of affairs, and second, to understand that they can indeed unite in solidarity against the corrupt power elites--in the U.S., and Italy, and the U.K., and France, and Greece, et al.
As I (and others) watch this process unfold (which I've been observing acutely for a at least 15 years now), I think one of two things will happen: If those who become aware of the actual situation refuse to unite and form a cohesive and strategic resistance movement against the power elites, then we will move towards an Orwellian dystopia; if people find a way to unite with the specific and strategic purpose of opposing the corrupt power elites, then we would have brought about another age of enlightenment.
I'm going to wager on the new age of enlightenment, and because of it will do my little part in trying to convince people that all they have to do is unite--"¡En La Unión Esta la Fuerza!"
Each blue dot on the map below represents a member of a growing nation-wide network of social justice and anti-corruption activists committed to finding the best way forward. Join us in the effort!
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Ray Pensador |
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