Trying to be positive in the search for a better world...
Reading back through much of what I've written, what strikes me is just how much of it pulls apart the system we're forced to endure, with very little actually offering a positive alternative. Admittedly, it's a lot easier slagging off governments, banks, corporations and many other institutions than it is offering a viable alternative. It's also very easy to slag off former comrades who can't accept that the way I see things has evolved and increasingly stands in stark contrast to their world view.
On the other hand, it's bloody hard work trying to outline what an alternative society could look like. This is particularly the case the more detailed the utopian vision becomes. When the realisation dawns that a considerable chunk of humanity would effectively have to be 'reprogrammed' to enable that utopia to work, the task should become so daunting, any right thinking person would abandon any notion of setting out along that path.
Tragically, there have been wrong thinking people with the burning zeal to push for their idea of utopia, regardless of the cost. History is littered with the corpses of those who have fallen foul of the zealots wanting to impose their vision, regardless of the cost in lives.
When I was younger, I was possibly touched with some of that righteous zeal. I naively thought that it was possible to create a utopia and that it was something worth fighting for. Maturity and the life experience that comes with it has taught me the error of my youthful zeal. What has also added to this is my experience of the last eight or so years of my activism. From the intolerance of the trans rights activists through to the unquestioning acceptance of the Covid narrative from my now former comrades, the scales have fallen right away from my eyes. It was the final push in making me rethink a lot of my assumptions. It also made me more open to reading and trying my level best to understand opposing and different viewpoints. An outlook that was radically strengthened when I started to associate and engage with the various currents of opposition to the Covid lockdowns. With a fair number of these currents also opposing any attempt to impose the great reset, it looked as though I'd found my new political home.
The thing is that what I've found is not a political home in the sense that it offers a definitive set of values and a sense of tight, tribal loyalty. That's not something I would remotely want anyway. What I have found is a space where a range of ideas and possibilities can be discussed. The one basic principle we agree on is that we're utterly opposed to any form of authoritarianism.
Authoritarianism comes in many guises. The boot stamping in someone's face may still hold in some instances but in the high tech age we live in, authoritarianism can simply be implemented with the click of a button.
A click of a button is all it takes to de-bank someone whose views are considered to stray from the accepted narrative. Shadow banning the accounts of those of us on social media whose views are deemed to be unacceptable is another example of the sly, insidious forms authoritarianism can assume.
Those of us who can loosely be thought of as the 'resistance' against the great reset broadly agree that we've moved beyond the left vs right political dichotomy. We also broadly agree that the emerging political dichotomy is that between freedom and authoritarianism. Closely linked to this is another dichotomy, that between decentralisation and localism on the one hand and on the other, globalism that goes hand in hand with massively intrusive digitisation of every aspect of our lives. Digitisation implemented with the sole purpose of owning our bodies and souls in order to control every aspect of our lives in a way that serves the elites. Decentralised and localised ways of living that depend on cooperation while respecting individual autonomy don't require authoritarianism to function. On the other hand, a globalised way of existence requires a heck of a lot of authoritarianism to keep the show on the road.
The 'resistance', such as it is, comprises many currents with different ways of seeing things. At this stage, a plurality of opinion is actually welcome because tolerance and being able to listen and respond to a range of opinions should be the hallmark of the decent society I hope we're all aiming for. However, the 'resistance' is far from perfect, and there are still elements in it who'll be looking to a leadership type figure to rally around.
I have absolutely no time for self styled 'leaders' and 'voices' in any situation. The more charismatic these self styled 'leaders' and 'voices' are, the more I'm inclined to not only not trust them, but also, to strongly suspect their motives.
There were some attaching themselves to the currents opposing lockdown and who are now opposing the great reset, who are using the situation to further their own questionable agendas. Here in the UK, I think we can all agree who these charlatans are without having to name names and then having to deal with unwanted flak!
Whatever future society that emerges to replace the high tech enabled dystopia that we're being forced into cannot have any elements of one size fits all. Whatever does emerge has to recognise the diversity and complexity of thoughts and beliefs that make up humanity. Any attempt at social engineering to force people into a particular way of thinking and living has to be resisted.
I watch the antics of my now former comrades who spit their contempt at religion and the nuclear family and despair. I'm not religious in any way, albeit I'm seeking a more spiritual understanding of life: Taking a step back in a search for some spiritual depth 11.7.23. I realise that the journeys people undertake in seeking a spiritual dimension to life will be on many different paths, some of which will end up in more formal religious settings than I'd personally be seeking. It's different strokes for different folks and so long as someone's religious beliefs don't impinge upon someone else's freedoms, as far as I'm concerned, they're entitled to those beliefs.
As for the nuclear family, while it's certainly not for everyone, it does act as the bulwark against the state owning and controlling your kids. There is a value in it when it comes to defending individual autonomy against state intrusion, particularly when it comes to dodgy educational agendas. On the other hand, not all families are happy ones and I speak from bitter personal experience. So, if someone after a troubled upbringing decides that family life isn't for them, I for one will respect their choice to live how they want.
Following on from this, parenthood isn't for everyone. A good number of people do find it a rewarding experience, albeit it that it can be knackering and stressful at times. What I don't want to see is a society that's so rigid in its outlook that people feel obliged to become parents because it's what's expected of them rather than something they deeply desire. When that happens, the consequence is unhappy children and subsequently, adults with issues - trust me on this one. The hope is that whatever future society emerges from the struggle we're in at the moment, parenthood is far better facilitated than it is in the dystopian shitshow we're in now where it feels like as many obstacles as possible are thrown in the way of those who genuinely want to have and raise kids.
It's about learning to cut each other some slack and recognising there's no hard and fast right or wrong way of living. So long as the basic and vital principle that your beliefs and way of living don't come at any cost whatsoever to anyone else is respected and adhered to, we have the basis for a decent society. In an ideal world, this wouldn't have to be spelt out to anyone at all. Sadly, we live in a far from ideal world...
The bad news is that we're never going to have an ideal world. Such a world is only possible with ideal humans and the sixty seven years I've spent on this earth so far have taught me that there are many flawed people around. I'm flawed and nowhere near perfect. Anyone who thinks they're flawless and perfect needs to be advised to get over themselves. The best we can aspire to is a society where it's harder for the psychopaths and the power mad to get any kind of leverage over us.
This is why decentralisation and localism is important. Not least because it facilitates the scale which allows people to be accountable to each other. It allows the face to face relationships that go towards building trust and facilitating accountability. In a decentralised society, human contact and face to face relationships would come back into our lives while de-humanising, isolating and controlling digital technology is consigned to the dustbin of history. Whatever digital technology remains will be there to facilitate our lives as opposed to controlling them.
Decentralisation and localism would also apply to as much of the supply chain as is feasible. This is particularly the case when it comes to food production. As I've mentioned before, whoever controls the food supply controls the population: Keeping it local and under our control 9.8.23. The bulwark against that is making sure that we're the ones in control of our food production by bringing it as close to the grassroots as we can manage. That may well mean a return to eating seasonally, something I remember from my childhood. As a future society would hopefully be more in touch with the natural world that we depend upon for our survival, seasonal eating would be part of the deeper ritual that acknowledges the passing of the seasons and the changes that come with that.
Last but by no means least, we have to recognise that we live on a finite planet. Our mode of production and consumption is going to trash the planet that's our home if we carry on as we are. A constant cycle of product 'upgrades' and discarding perfectly workable products in favour of newer, shinier models is going to be our undoing. What will also be our undoing is carrying on with built in obsolescence characterised by products and buildings that start to fail, pack up and fall apart after a few years. We have to get back to durability and building to last.
The aim of this brief(ish) piece is to highlight various aspects of how we'd like to see society change towards something more human in scale, more spiritually fulfilling and less frenetic and more sustainable. It's not intended to be a detailed road map. Anyone offering a detailed road map towards 'radical change' most likely needs to be avoided like the plague! All this piece aims to do is help the conversation about the broad direction we want to move in.
What's important in all of this is that we accept that one size fits all solutions will never ever work because they fail to acknowledge the diversity of human thought and belief.