The End Times are upon us.
Don't take this as some doom-and-gloom bullshit. I'm just calling it straight: this is the end of the world--as we know it. And things are just getting interesting!
The events currently unfolding around the world will determine where our species goes from here.
I guess you could say we're at a fork in the road. One fork leads to widespread misery and destruction, the other to a Star Trek-like world unlike anything we can possibly imagine.
I know how this must sound: like pure insanity.
If you know me personally then you know that I'm both dead serious and at the same time totally joking.
I'm playing my favourite role: the trickster. I'm messing with your head--or am I?
The trickster isn't so bad! He helps out in his own way. He teaches the heroes a lesson. Sometimes it's a painful lesson, sure, but it always helps in the end.
And that's what I intend to do: help, in the end.
Let's take a look at the situation, shall we?
First we've got climate change: that's a nasty one. I try not to think or read about it, but inevitably I come upon a gloomy article that strikes terror into my heart. At the end the writer always adds some distant projection for when the shit is going to hit the fan--by the year 2100, for example--and then I feel a tiny bit of relief.
Chances are my kids won't even be around by then--phew!
But then I think of exponential growth, and the fact that the media is blatantly lying to us about everything these days, and the fact that the north pole is currently 25 degrees hotter than it should be, and the fact that we're crushing global temperature records year after year, and I poo myself a little.
OK. Moving on.
Next up we have our broken government. Here you'll find the source of political and corporate corruption, which is in turn the source of income inequality and a driver of climate instability.
All of these issues are related. All represent legitimate threats to our existence, and all of them lead back to our broken model of government.
It isn't surprising: we're talking about an 8,000 year old model that's only been slightly updated here and there. The longer we insist on using this model, the more we flirt with disaster.
What is this model, you ask? Simply put, it is Rule of the Many by the Few.
Call them elites, one percenters, politicians, oligarchs, the Illuminati, or whatever you want, but it doesn't change what they are: a few people.
That's right: a handful of regular fucking dudes.
Simply put, a handful of people hoard 80% of the wealth while another handful of people wield all the legislative power.
Tell me: how is that working out so far?
Look at nature: have you ever heard of an ecosystem where 1% of the animals consume 80% of the food? Of course not. Because such an ecosystem would be unsustainable it would collapse in no time.
Everywhere in nature there's balance, cooperation, and harmony: what makes us think we're above nature's laws?
All of this leads us back to our old, broke-ass government.
Democracy, capitalism: it's all bullshit. It's no different from the days of God-Kings and Emperors, except now we have the illusion of choice, the illusion of control, which makes us complacent.
Why try to take charge when you already think you're in charge? Why fight for freedom when you mistakenly believe you are free?
I think by now most of us understand who actually runs shit around here. Thanks to our compromised political system, entire industries and special-interest groups can bribe and lobby our elected representatives. In turn, laws are passed not for the good of the people but for the good of large, faceless entities, and more importantly, the people who profit from them.
Two questions usually come up right about now.
First: "If not democracy, if not capitalism, then what?" The follow up to this usually goes, "What are you suggesting: Communism?" Another good one I hear is "We've already tried everything else and this is the least-worst of the bunch!"
I'm always astounded by such responses.
Where's the imagination?
Of course I'm not suggesting we move backward; to the contrary, onward, fellow humans!
We can design a better system. That's right: we. Us.
One that's more balanced and less susceptible (or better yet, immune) to fraud, corruption, and dishonesty. One that represents the interests of the many and still allows for a free market.
I know it can be done! There are so many great and powerful minds out there: we just need to recruit them to our cause. Then it's just a matter of planning, design, and a lot of work.
But it can be done--not in fifty years or in thirty years or even in ten: it can be done in a matter of months!
Question number two: "Isn't income inequality natural? And isn't the alternative some kind of socialist pipe-dream?
Income inequality is natural and healthy to some extent. In its current exaggerated form, however, it undermines the stability of our global civilization.
To use an illustration, imagine a pyramid.
The stability of the structure comes from its base. That's us: the average working Joes and Janes of the world, the middle-class backbone of the economy.
What happens if we move a few bricks from the bottom of the pyramid to the top? Not much. It'll look a little weird but remain stable.
Now what if we move 80% of the blocks from the bottom to the top? What do you think might happen then?
The pyramid starts teetering badly and sooner than later it's going to topple down.
You see trickle-down economics--the idea that giving the richest people more money because they create jobs--has always been a scam invented by--you guessed it!--the richest people.
How do trickle-down economics work in real life?
Factories are moved to third-world countries where workers work for pennies. Billions of dollars are stashed in tax-free havens. Jobs are lost by the thousands and the economy is robbed of billions in tax revenue.
This, coincidentally, is a contributing factor to Donald Fuckin' Trump's narrow win over the Lizard Queen. But I won't delve into that now--saving it for another post :)
For now I want to get back to the End Times. Did I mention they're upon us?
Let's end on a positive note.
My old friend Marcus wrote, "What stands in the way becomes the way."
What stands in the way now is a combination of greed, ignorance, corruption, and division. Though these are grim problems to contend with, they nevertheless point us toward the solution.
Greed is overcome by generosity; ignorance by knowledge; corruption by virtue; and division by unity.
Now more than ever we must unite, organize, and mobilize.
We must lead the Revolution.
Oh, don't worry: I'm not suggesting violence!
No, ours will be a silent and peaceful revolution. No blood will be shed--not by us, anyway. Instead we will exploit the same broken system currently used to keep us down. We will turn the apparatus against itself and replace it with something new--something designed deliberately by the people, for the people.
And to all you old billionaire fucks: don't worry, you'll get to keep your money.
You just wont get to keep our government.
