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

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Posts that I especially recommend for Wednesday, November 17, 2021

  • Sharyl Attkisson: Vaccine Mandates Are the Ultimate Showdown from Mercola. My reaction: I share with Attkisson my impression during my recent brief road trip to NY state from my home in southern Minnesota: most businesses are not enforcing this edict. I was north of NY City on the Hudson River, but I was not turned away at federally controlled offices which had notices that they prohibited unvaccinated people. I remain unvaccinated (against any disease) and I've enjoyed the longest healthy period (outside of my mostly temporary problems with balance) that I can remember, but of course, I (voluntarily) follow good health advice by limiting my exposure to crowds. I am 85 years of age.
  • 💥Matt Smith: Building Parallel Societies to Survive the Great Reset from the channel of Geopolitics & Empire on Odysee. (Note: The narrator, who currently lives in Mexico (whose name I couldn't ascertain), interviews Smith who has fled to Uruguay to survive the restrictions posed by the "pandemic project" that is confronting most people today.) My reaction: Over the course of the pandemic he formed two hypothetical explanations: either evil people are behind it and controlling it or else they are worried about something terrible is going to happen on planet Earth. I, of course, subscribe to the latter hypothesis--and it is the destabilization of the climate, not to save ordinary people, but to save themselves and their system of capitalism. Then he launches into a discussion of how to deal with this horrible situation, and he says it's only going to get worse. Smith advises using choices that you have left and with emphasis on building trust with others in order to survive the horrendous restrictions posed by governmental authorities. He doesn't advice for people without any capital; but with the people with at least some capital. I found this to be a highly intelligent discussion worth the 58 minutes of listening. 
  • Tuesday~Predicaments by John Allen from his weblog on Medium. My reaction: I think he offers good advice, and I follow it. My home is an apartment in co-op housing. I bank at two different credit unions which have co-op type arrangements. I buy food at a co-op store. It is my experience that co-ops are the optimal experience that one can have while living in a capitalist society.
The project’s completion might take some by surprise, particularly if they follow Western media and believe Vietnam is an adversary of China or that the Southeast Asian state, once the target of a vicious two decades-long war waged against it by the United States, is now joined together with Washington in their common purpose of “standing up” to China.

Yet nothing could be further from the truth. The notion that China is a regional “bully” evaporates with the slightest breeze of truth, and all that’s left is the fact that Vietnam and China – despite their many differences – are building a constructive future together.
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