No, no chance at all of building what you call for at the end of your piece. The forces of power in the supersystem, which Shawshank does a good job in depicting, are vastly stronger at every institutional juncture.
Good-hearted folks have been calling forth for this anti-corporate reform to magically come about since the 60s, and here we sit with war and collapse and obscene inequality and vicious cultists in charge.
Perhaps. Maybe even more than likely. But that system is in the process of collapse. Plus, who would have thought the Vietnamese would outlast the United States? Sometimes you don't have to defeat the enemy, just outlast them. I hear you... but I'm not giving up just yet.
Just to try to be clear for my perspective, collapse is indeed occurring - but as with the collapse of a building, this is a horrible, tragic form of externalized destruction, as in Gaza.
Vietnam is no uplifting lesson to me - the millions upon millions of dead Vietnamese people killed by the US war have never received anything like due notice, let alone respect or reparations.
People can “fight,” or even just “not give up,” while appreciating the Trap, and the basic hopelessness. OK, granted, that’s not a popular guiding principle, but that’s what comments sections should be for - unpalatable truths, if anyone is open to them.
I've heard the term double-bind used a lot to describe the situation. There are no good outcomes. They are all bad. Whether or not humans and the planetary biosphere survive it all remains an open question... perhaps something people feel they need to not give up on. It's a one day at a time situation for me.
Wonderful to have this conversation. A virtue of Substack writing. As for my experience, the only option is to see through what is happening so as to live a life of openness to reality- which as Lao tzu says is beyond words to define.
No, no chance at all of building what you call for at the end of your piece. The forces of power in the supersystem, which Shawshank does a good job in depicting, are vastly stronger at every institutional juncture.
Good-hearted folks have been calling forth for this anti-corporate reform to magically come about since the 60s, and here we sit with war and collapse and obscene inequality and vicious cultists in charge.
Perhaps. Maybe even more than likely. But that system is in the process of collapse. Plus, who would have thought the Vietnamese would outlast the United States? Sometimes you don't have to defeat the enemy, just outlast them. I hear you... but I'm not giving up just yet.
Just to try to be clear for my perspective, collapse is indeed occurring - but as with the collapse of a building, this is a horrible, tragic form of externalized destruction, as in Gaza.
Vietnam is no uplifting lesson to me - the millions upon millions of dead Vietnamese people killed by the US war have never received anything like due notice, let alone respect or reparations.
People can “fight,” or even just “not give up,” while appreciating the Trap, and the basic hopelessness. OK, granted, that’s not a popular guiding principle, but that’s what comments sections should be for - unpalatable truths, if anyone is open to them.
I totally agree with all of this. I appreciate your thoughtful comments, Martin.
I've heard the term double-bind used a lot to describe the situation. There are no good outcomes. They are all bad. Whether or not humans and the planetary biosphere survive it all remains an open question... perhaps something people feel they need to not give up on. It's a one day at a time situation for me.
Wonderful to have this conversation. A virtue of Substack writing. As for my experience, the only option is to see through what is happening so as to live a life of openness to reality- which as Lao tzu says is beyond words to define.
Great.