This question around the goal of Capitalism is a poignant one. Without a goal, aim or mission, there are no measurable results nor a course to chart. And pray tell what course would that be exactly? Does anyone know? Do you know? Here's what Wikipedia has on the subject: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism. The one criticism notated in this encyclopedic definition; unpredictability. Really, is that all?
The point Timothy Killian makes about Capitalism; it's purely socially and morally irresponsible to:
1) Have any public system without a measurable result
2) Have a system established in any way contrary to serving the best interests of the greater good
Capitalism as a whole is indifferent, focused on one primary outcome; profit.
Then there's good old fashioned Democracy. As Killian states, this political system is purported to be the best known to mankind. Really? What exactly is Democracy the best at doing?
What is humankind doing here on Earth? What's our greater purpose? To live behind a veil of lies and corruption? To absolve ourselves from the truth by winding ourselves up so tightly in popular culture that our lives are so meaningless no one cares anymore? To destroy one another and take the planet we're feeding on with it? Well if those aren't the reasons we as humankind are here, why in God's name are we acting like these are?
I just became aware of a new HBO television program called The Newsroom. The first episode starts with a political forum on a college campus. A young woman asks the question: "Why is America the greatest country in the world?"
The most quiet of the three panel speakers, a news anchor, who is pushed into giving an answer by the moderator, ends up going into a very articulate and well-informed rant. He basically says there is no evidence to suggest America is the greatest country in the world. Though he did say America is number one in the world for three things:
1) The number of our citizens incarcerated per capita
2) The number of adults who believe in angels
3) Defense spending (more than the next 26 nations combined)
The full episode is available for streaming here: http://www.hbo.com/index.html#/the-newsroom/episodes/1/01-we-just-decided-to/video/full-episode.html/eNrjcmbOYM5nLlTPz0lxzEvMqSzJTA5ITE-1S8xN1SzLTEnNh4k65+eVpFaUcDIyskknlpbkF+QkVtqWFJWmsjGyMQIAUKwXOA==
Capitalism feeds on money. What is money? According to Wikipedia it's a system based on fiat money, nothing more than a government declaration on a note which must legally be accepted for all debts public and private. The intrinsic value of fiat money is zero, like trying to create something out of nothing. Certainly only God can accomplish such a task, thus likely why each U.S. monetary note reads the words, "In God We Trust." Well, one can certainly trust money as much as one can something that's completely fabricated and inauthentic.
"In God we trust" was adopted as the official motto of the United States in 1956 as an alternative or replacement to the unofficial motto of E pluribus unum, adopted when the Great Seal of the United States was created and adopted in 1782. E pluribus unum means out of or from many, one. What a novel idea; a collective or a collaboration. Certainly not the brand of unifying dogma our government and the powers that be feed us today. It's us vs. them; them against us. United we stand. Divide and conquer ...
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
You Can't Handle the Truth PART I
Ignorance truly is bliss. Unfortunately for me I've always been drawn to the truth, no matter how wonderful or how horrible.
On June 13th, 2012, one simple question Timothy Killian posted to his FB wall has since turned my world upside down. He wrote, "What is the goal of capitalism?" Suffice to say he received dozens of comments.
This last weekend, I was thumbing through Netflix looking for a good film or documentary to watch, this Capitalism question still burning in my subconscious. There it was, an award-winning documentary, Zeitgeist. Apparently this film was released in 2007. How have I not seen this until now?!
Zeitgeist examines the foundation upon which our "modern" society has been constructed, revealing hard-to-swallow truths that everything we've been taught to believe all our lives is a lie, including the notion we are in some way free.
If you've not seen this documentary, I highly recommend it (unless you can't handle the truth). The Federal Reserve, rather those behind it, are an invisible government comprised of the eight wealthiest families on Earth. American democracy is just an illusion to appease the masses. The federal income tax is illegal, and all the income tax collected is the amount needed to cover the interest payments on money the U.S. government borrows from the Federal Reserve. Each of us spends about three months working to pay this interest. We are all indentured to the uber elite. The system, no surprise here, is on the verge of collapse. That is, of course, unless we can chart a better evolutionary course to a future that works for everyone on the planet.
The veil has been lifted. Welcome to the age of revelations.
On June 13th, 2012, one simple question Timothy Killian posted to his FB wall has since turned my world upside down. He wrote, "What is the goal of capitalism?" Suffice to say he received dozens of comments.
This last weekend, I was thumbing through Netflix looking for a good film or documentary to watch, this Capitalism question still burning in my subconscious. There it was, an award-winning documentary, Zeitgeist. Apparently this film was released in 2007. How have I not seen this until now?!
Zeitgeist examines the foundation upon which our "modern" society has been constructed, revealing hard-to-swallow truths that everything we've been taught to believe all our lives is a lie, including the notion we are in some way free.
If you've not seen this documentary, I highly recommend it (unless you can't handle the truth). The Federal Reserve, rather those behind it, are an invisible government comprised of the eight wealthiest families on Earth. American democracy is just an illusion to appease the masses. The federal income tax is illegal, and all the income tax collected is the amount needed to cover the interest payments on money the U.S. government borrows from the Federal Reserve. Each of us spends about three months working to pay this interest. We are all indentured to the uber elite. The system, no surprise here, is on the verge of collapse. That is, of course, unless we can chart a better evolutionary course to a future that works for everyone on the planet.
The veil has been lifted. Welcome to the age of revelations.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
What does that even mean?
The day after my Grandma's funeral, I went to lunch with my mom, her life partner, aunt, cousin and her two little girls. In the middle of lunch, my cousin says to me, "I don't know how you got through what you read."
Wow, a little acknowledgement, I thought to myself. And from Lisa? "Honestly, I don't either. I asked Grandma for her strength during the prayer and I re-read what I wrote dozens of times to numb myself to my words," I revealed.
"You could be an actor," she added.
Really?! What does that even mean? A part of me still thinks I should have asked, and I had for a split second considered insisting on clarification were it not for the emotional fragility of our bereaved mothers.
What crossed my mind was, "Lisa, you’re so the epitome of authentic, thoughtful and selfless. Now that was acting. Thank you."
Honestly, in hindsight, what would have been ripe for the occasion is to acknowledge how utterly sad a statement she made. If the purpose of her statement was to question my authenticity, all she really did was declare her own. I regard this in the only way her "sentiment" exists in reality; a revelation of self.
Admittedly, I stepped outside myself the day of the funeral, that week, possibly even since the time of my dear Grandma's passing. I am uber sensitive and vulnerable to my core. I know the delivery of my eulogy was stoic. It began with an emotional connection. Suddenly becoming stoic by the end of the first page was a defense mechanism necessary so I could deliver my thoughtfully crafted words without completely falling apart; so my voice, my truth about my Grandma, could in some way, shape or form be expressed to those dearest to her.
I had one of the heaviest of hands planning and coordinating my Grandma's final life celebration. To me, at the time, having a creative outlet I thought to be helpful. In hindsight, it was a distraction which seemed to have benefitted me the least. I didn't allow myself to grieve her. Yet I don't know that I would have done anything differently for this was truly my final opportunity to do something for my Grandma, and I wanted to do all I could to ensure she had a perfect day of remembrance.
I began writing my Grandma's eulogy about a month before she died, just as she was starting hospice care. I know myself well enough if I had waited until the day arrived, I wouldn't have had the wherewithal (a word my ex of seven years introduced to my diction) to construct anything worthy of how this wonderful woman touched my life so profoundly. My Grandma was one of the truest and purest sources of love my soul has ever known incarnate.
My heart goes out to Lisa. Only someone void of love could be so insensitive and heartless ...
Wow, a little acknowledgement, I thought to myself. And from Lisa? "Honestly, I don't either. I asked Grandma for her strength during the prayer and I re-read what I wrote dozens of times to numb myself to my words," I revealed.
"You could be an actor," she added.
Really?! What does that even mean? A part of me still thinks I should have asked, and I had for a split second considered insisting on clarification were it not for the emotional fragility of our bereaved mothers.
What crossed my mind was, "Lisa, you’re so the epitome of authentic, thoughtful and selfless. Now that was acting. Thank you."
Honestly, in hindsight, what would have been ripe for the occasion is to acknowledge how utterly sad a statement she made. If the purpose of her statement was to question my authenticity, all she really did was declare her own. I regard this in the only way her "sentiment" exists in reality; a revelation of self.
Admittedly, I stepped outside myself the day of the funeral, that week, possibly even since the time of my dear Grandma's passing. I am uber sensitive and vulnerable to my core. I know the delivery of my eulogy was stoic. It began with an emotional connection. Suddenly becoming stoic by the end of the first page was a defense mechanism necessary so I could deliver my thoughtfully crafted words without completely falling apart; so my voice, my truth about my Grandma, could in some way, shape or form be expressed to those dearest to her.
I had one of the heaviest of hands planning and coordinating my Grandma's final life celebration. To me, at the time, having a creative outlet I thought to be helpful. In hindsight, it was a distraction which seemed to have benefitted me the least. I didn't allow myself to grieve her. Yet I don't know that I would have done anything differently for this was truly my final opportunity to do something for my Grandma, and I wanted to do all I could to ensure she had a perfect day of remembrance.
I began writing my Grandma's eulogy about a month before she died, just as she was starting hospice care. I know myself well enough if I had waited until the day arrived, I wouldn't have had the wherewithal (a word my ex of seven years introduced to my diction) to construct anything worthy of how this wonderful woman touched my life so profoundly. My Grandma was one of the truest and purest sources of love my soul has ever known incarnate.
My heart goes out to Lisa. Only someone void of love could be so insensitive and heartless ...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
