Choices that need to be made...

Regular readers of this blog will be aware that I’ve been getting somewhat introspective about where my activism is going. Some may be aware that on one or two occasions, I’ve very briefly thought about jacking it all in and spending whatever years I may have left on this mortal coil chilling out and enjoying myself. Given how the shite that’s going down in this increasingly dystopian world impacts my life in a number of ways – shite that will get worse if I don’t do my bit to deal with it – jacking in activism is not a choice I can afford to make. I’ve got skin in the game so, I need to do what I can to deal with what’s being done to us while all the time, working towards a better world.

Regular readers will also be aware that I’ve been doing quite a bit of thinking as to what form my activism should take. That in part is governed by what’s sustainable without it taking an unacceptable mental and physical toll on my health. It’s also governed by a desire to move back to more analogue ways of getting stuff done that actually involve real life, face to face interactions. This is something I dealt with in some depth in this post: Moving back towards analogue? 28.2.25.

Many people have reached a point of digital overload to the point where a) they feel overwhelmed and b) they want more in the way of real life, face to face contact and also, printed reading material instead of just staring at a screen. My gut feeling is that there’s a bit of a turn against the digitisation of many aspects of our lives and a desire to step off the digital treadmill and back to a more human way of interacting with each other.

Carrying on with the theme of increasing disillusionment with the digital world, in my previous post – A choice that can be made... 18.4.25 – I went off on a bit of a rant about the way it seems that too many people’s thought processes are being re-wired by social media and, not in a good way at all. Attention spans seem to have been shortened, alongside the ability to appreciate complexity and nuance in a piece of writing. This is symptomatic of a process of dumbing down which, if it isn’t challenged and reversed, is going to lead us into a disturbingly dangerous phase of history.

This dumbing down can manifest itself in a tribalistic dichotomy where everything is framed in terms of ‘us vs them’ with no room for grey areas and nuance, let alone complexity. It can also manifest itself in the search for a saviour or a strong ruler who’ll come along to magically ‘solve’ all of our problems. This was sadly all too evident in some sections of the so called ‘truth movement’ that arose in defiance of the lockdown measures and vaccine mandates that were being forced upon us during the Covid ‘crisis’ in 2020/21. This was something I dealt with in this piece: Getting away from the fear porn merchants, rage baiters, pedants and grifters 30.12.24:

A significant minority of the ‘truth movement’ never really got the hang of rejecting all authority, false idols and grifters. The inability to do this was the reason for what I would describe as their fall from grace. Particularly with the way some of them are looking to Trump to be some kind of saviour. Seriously? For f**k sake!

What I also dealt with in that piece was the propensity of some elements to absolutely revel in fear porn without offering any road map towards a solution, let alone any degree of optimism that a better future is there if we can work together:

It would seem that what some have dubbed the ‘truth movement’ that arose in response to the Covid lockdown restrictions and measures, and also the vaccine mandates, in 2020 and 2021, had more than their fair share of fear porn merchants, rage baiters, pedants and grifters. If you’re on X (formerly known as Twitter), it can feel like the whole sodding place is populated with them.

It’s all too easy to let these hope and energy sapping bastards drag you down their pet rabbit holes, subjecting you to further stress and despair, while having no solutions or suggestions for action on offer.

I also dealt with the ease with which some of these so called ‘truthers’ fall for the machinations of the divide and rule merchants, doing the dirty work for those who presume to rule over us by getting us at each other’s throats. I cannot believe the utter naivety of the people who are falling for this, particularly after what we’ve been subjected to over the last five years:

The agenda of spreading fear and division starts at the very top. These bastards and the numerous useful idiots who willingly become divide and rule merchants have no intention of letting up whatsoever. One major task in 2025 is showing who these bastards really are and stopping them from implementing their malign agenda.

Whatever happened to critical thinking, accepting complexity and nuance, and being able to have a rational debate with people you don’t see eye to eye with? To me, it feels that there’s been a dumbing down that’s been taking place for a number of decades but, which has been rapidly accelerated by the rise of social media. Social media is leading to a world where increasingly, attention spans are nowhere near where they should be. Complex arguments are getting subsumed by sloganistic, vacuous sound bites which enforce division and tribalism while hampering any efforts to work towards sustainable, just and equitable long term solutions.

Which to be brutally honest, is exactly where those who presume to rule over us want us to be. Ever more reliant on some poxy device in our pockets – a.k.a. a so called ‘smartphone’ – which is being weaponised to divide and turn us against each other. A device that fewer and fewer people seem to be able to do without as more aspects of our lives become digitised and we have to be able to access the sodding apps required to navigate modern life. As that device is being made into an integral part of our lives – regardless of whether we want it or not – why not use the ability of so called ‘social’ media to divide us? It’s the prefect no-brainer for our techno-fascist overlords who must be laughing themselves silly at our seeming eagerness to suck all of this up.

As I’ve already mentioned elsewhere, knowing what the bastards are doing to us and how they’re manipulating us via these poxy devices in our pockets is one thing. Saying all that needs to be done is to simply switch off and walk away from it is easy to say but trust me, from my own experience, it’s bloody hard to do. I’m slowly learning to be less anxious about missing out on what someone may be pontificating about on social media, but… There’s always a ‘but’ isn’t there and all to often, it’s the bastards exploiting our fear of ‘missing out’. Although when you take a critical look at what you’re actually ‘missing out’ on, all to often, it’s little more than ranting, rage baiting and spreading fear porn.

As already mentioned, what’s also grinding my gears is the predominance of fear porn spreading doom mongers who seemingly have no intention of offering a road map towards a better world. We already know how shite the world is as things currently stand – this is something we experience in many aspects of our lives. Yes, we know things will get worse, particularly if no challenge is made to the powers that be who are inflicting this crap upon us. However, if these purveyors of doom have no serious intention of offering a road map pointing towards a better world, then I’ve no intention of continuing to waste my time and mental energy reading their prophecies of how bad things are going to get. Part of that is going to involve unfollowing a number of social media accounts, particularly on X, of people who bang on about how bad the world is but, cannot offer any clue as to what a grassroots based alternative could look like. Sadly, that will include a number of people I used to regard as allies...so be it, life goes on…

This is why I’m increasingly reposting posts from our sister blog – At the grassroots – here on Stirrings from below. It’s done with the aim of encouraging more people to think about setting up parallel systems and starting to build the world we want now, rather than waiting for everything to collapse and then naively hoping for the best. Having those parallel systems in place is what will help us get through any collapse or crisis, and through to the kind of world we really want: The whole point is to bloody well change things! 21.2.25.

The problem is that the tech bros and the patsy politicians and shady networks who are doing their bidding are accelerating their efforts to push us all into a malevolent digital control matrix. That acceleration leaves less time than is preferable to build and enhance the parallel systems we need to get through the turmoil of change as the powers that be become increasingly desperate to hang onto their power and wealth. Building and enhancing parallel systems of support and mutual aid will be the lifeline we need to get us through what’s coming. They’ll also be the building blocks of the sane, just and truly sustainable world that we want and deserve.

On a more pragmatic note, I wrote this piece citing just a few of the many examples of what’s going on at the grassroots to build parallel systems and start to move towards a better world: Thoughts on volunteering and building a better world 31.3.25.

People volunteer because they want their communities to be better places to live. Working co-operatively with like minded people, they get a heck of a lot done. In the process they generate community solidarity and cohesion – something that’s vital in these increasingly troubled times. It’s human nature to want to work co-operatively to make things better. Volunteering in the community is a clear indication of that constructive, co-operative spirit. What all of this goes to show is that the building blocks for a better world are already in place where we live.

To bring things to some kind of conclusion, as the title of this piece suggests, it’s about making the choices that need to be made. In my case, it’s starting with cutting myself free from the doom mongers and rage baiters on the social media platforms I’m on, and focusing on those who genuinely want to build an alternative. Then it’s boosting the profile of At the grassroots to the point where that may well become our main blogging project. Then it’s continuing the switch over to more analogue ways of getting our message across. We have a paper that’s back from the printer – distributing that face to face and having some meaningful face to face conversations with people is something we’re really looking forward to. Lastly but by no means least, it’s about building on the practical grassroots activity we’re undertaking where we live in Keynsham.

My period of introspection has been going on for some while now. It’s coming to a close as it becomes clearer what the choices are that need to be made. While it will mean some drastic changes in places and dropping a few former allies, those choices need to be made so I can clear my mind and get on with things. Hopefully from this point, it’s a case of onwards and upwards...