We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Monday, October 15, 2018

The trust deficit tearing apart our societies

Click here to access article by Jonathan Cook from his blog. 

Although this article is in reference to British politics and population, being that Britain in a major component of the US-led Empire makes it relevant to us also. And, indeed it is. Although we don't have any genuine significant leader-dissident like Corbyn, we do have a 99% that is divided between what Cook designates as "trusters" and "dissidents". As in Britain, the US ruling class (the "one percent") is desperately trying to prevent the spread of dissent among the 99%. Therefore, this insightful article is entirely relevant to we Americans.
We are arriving at a moment called a paradigm shift. That is when the cracks in a system become so obvious they can no longer be credibly denied. Those vested in the old system scream and shout, they buy themselves a little time with increasingly repressive measures, but the house is moments away from falling. The critical questions are who gets hurt when the structure tumbles, and who decides how it will be rebuilt.

The new paradigm is coming anyway. If we don’t choose it ourselves, the planet will for us. It could be an improvement, it could be a deterioration, it could be extinction, depending on how prepared we are for it and how violently those invested in the old system resist the loss of their power. If enough of us understand the need for discarding the broken system, the greater the hope that we can build something better from the ruins.