Chew, Swallow, Vomit, Repeat (A Rant)
On occasion, I have to disengage from the direct battle with neoliberals and Conservatives. It’s a practice I suggest all Progressives follow. Give yourself an occasional emotional rest.
One reason I do this is simply because I get tired of dealing with their mindless rote repetition. Virtually none of them think for themselves. This is not saying they are not capable, it’s worse. They are not willing. Memorize, seek reinforcing identical viewpoints, regurgitate. Never follow the profit path, the motivation of the author of the opinion they allow to think for them. Chew, swallow, vomit, repeat.
They pay no attention to minds or voices that are separate from the standard corporate model. Those are voices to be discredited without listening. Dr Richard Wolff, Robert Reich (on economics, not politics), the UN report stating capitalism is a failed model. Don’t read, don’t listen, don’t learn, don’t question.
One thing is absolutely true. When your arguments are rational enough to touch a chord, that’s when they start using insults and invalidation. Attack the source. In my case, they will attack saying I am not popular enough to be listened to. In other cases, they will use any accusation against a popular voice which they can. The accusation doesn’t have to be relevant to a quote or theory. The accusation does not have to be proven in any way. In fact, accusations can be absolutely proven false, as in rape or pedophilia accusations against Julian Assange. That doesn’t stop them from using it. Chew, swallow, vomit, repeat.
I think at this point I have written enough articles going into extreme detail on enough subjects that I can merely post links to previous articles on almost any popular subject. I’ve detailed why a 70% tax rate on the rich is not enough. Why imposing a Maximum Income is a good idea. How Social Democracy is profitable. Why universal healthcare is the best system. How weapons sales cost this country more money than it makes. Why Russiagate is an absolute farce (numerous articles). How the media is the advertising arm of the war industry. Why you should not be listening to corporate advertising or “intelligence professionals” because their specialty is literally brainwashing. How supporting the current system is truly fascism and will get worse. Why the economy and the dollar are doomed to fail. Soon. Catastrophically.
Posting those links or sharing information often feels like it does no good.
If you can manage to drag people kicking and screaming away from their cults (good luck with that), they consistently fall back on false narratives which they have no actual understanding of to begin with. Yet will use them as defense and offense. They can definitely be offensive. Anything to avoid challenging their established world view which they have never bothered to question or examine. Even when that world view locks them into a position which is literally killing them directly. Sit back, turn on corporate media. Cheer for the cult. Wallow in the filth. Chew, swallow, vomit, repeat.
The most frustrating part of all of this is that all of this is based on fear. Americans love to portray themselves as brave and courageous when in fact they are completely ruled by fear. Call it anger, bigotry, hatred, aggression, whatever. Every bit of it is based on fear. Yet too many people feed on this fear voraciously and with wanton gluttonous abandon, seeking it out like drunks on an endless binge. The media is more than happy to keep serving as they collect the profits on the tab. Because that’s what it’s all about to the media. The media doesn’t GAF what damage it does and if people die, they will gain even more money reporting on the deaths while covering up their own complicity.
Think of all the things you are told you must fear on a daily basis. Trump, Hillary, Bernie, third parties, Democrats, Republicans, Muslims, Christians, Atheists, Mexicans, Hondurans, climate change, guns, not having a gun, anyone of a different generation, Socialism, lack of medical care, universal healthcare, unemployment, Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, taxes, black people, white people, Nazis, KKK, men, women, pedophiles, gays, TG people, vaccines, no vaccines, lack of clean water, fire, flood, every bite of food you put in your mouth, hunger, obesity, high blood pressure, bad breath, body odor, wearing the wrong shoes, being rich, being poor, bad tires, shirts not white enough…
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” These words holds great wisdom which has been forgotten or ignored for decades. The more people hold onto fear, the less they open their consciousness to the fact that we have the power to fix our problems. If we stop fearing each other.
I know what the real truth is, though. If we stop being afraid, that means we actually have to take responsibility. Most Americans abhor that idea. The rich don’t want to give up their piles of gold so that the poor can even survive. The warmongers don’t want to stop the bombs. None of the media wants to be brave enough to end the cycle and stop being sensationalistic. That would lose advertisers.
It’s up to us. We cannot put it onto others. It’s up to us to turn off the media. It’s up to us to turn the narrative around. To realize that we don’t need to defeat anyone. To let others live their lives while we live ours. To walk away instead of adding to the hatred.
It is up to us to stop being afraid.
My disengagements are always short. It never means I will stop speaking out.
