Rule Number One... Non-Violence

Looking at the Worth A look Post, you may ask yourself what does peak-oil have to do with Unpeople. Everything. The Secret of the Seven Sisters is a really good series on Al Jazeera that gives a through look at the long dark history of the oil business over the last hundred or so years. They are not displacing happy white people. Everywhere oil is found and developed, conflict quickly breaks out. The Middle East, Africa, and even here on North America. It takes many forms; from wars, terrorism, thuggery, to unfolding slow-violence in the southern USA. See Dahr Jamail, one of the last true investigative journalists for more on this. The script runs pretty much the same. A company finds oil, buys off the local elites, shafts the locals, and leaves crushing poverty in it's wake. Let's not forget about the tiny group of rich autocrats and their associated goons either. I try to look for information on what's going on, and it's there on the internet. Sadly, these types of stories seldom make into the mass / corporate media's 24 / 7 news cycles. When they do, there is rarely any depth beyond who was killed, kidnapped or tortured. Seldom if ever, does anyone ask "why." The on-going coverage of the Niger Delta area on the nightly news just touches the surface. They have more important things to do like selling denture cream or pharmaceuticals. Here is something more in depth from Amnesty International on the Niger delta conflict. Most people are blissfully unaware of the true cost of driving everywhere, me included. It is one thing to read about such horrors, but another to live through it day in and day out. For the average western schmo like me, it is almost incomprehensible. Still, I want to educate myself and others. As a conflict Resolution practitioner, I wonder how will this all play out? It does not look good. 

We are using a finite resource as if it can go on forever. I have a feeling John Michael Greer is right. There is no magic technological bullet that is going to save us from the FACT that oil will run out. We are not facing this fact. Rather, we ignore it. I don't know when this will happen but it cannot be but so far off. Now, I'm not talking about some twisted Mad Max-like apocalyptic fantasy. Leave that for the movies. No, it will unfold over time with ever increasing costs in blood and treasure. Remember money drives the train. As long as there is financial benefit, expect more of the same denial of reality. Wall Street Consultant? That alone does not make him wrong, but I suspect his ideas are tied one way or another to his pay. I'm not a geologist. I don't know when oil will run out. But I know it will. The Earth is not making more. No amount of fancy charts and rosy projections can change this. Fracking, tar sands and super-deep sea drilling tell me something is rotten in Denmark. It is not getting any easier. It can only get more difficult and costly with the passage of time. The longer we pretend business as usual is fine, the harder and more costly the transition to a post oil world will be. Our current system of casino capitalism does not allow for long-term solutions that may run contrary to today's bottom line or shareholder expectations.

It may be worth reminding you governments are no longer independent (not sure they ever were) keeping your best interests at heart. Even the so-called democracies, are bought, and paid for with corporate cash. Corporations, by design, have only one goal-- maximizing profits. Anything that gets in the way of that goal is crushed; regulations, climate change science, and even people. The drive for profit is short-term, and relentless. Anything or anyone that questions capitalism or the profit motive, faces ridicule here in the west, and death in too many other parts of the world.Think "dirty" hippies in the Occupy Wall Street Movement and consider our unilateral policy of "regime change" when someone dares to not go along with Uncle Sam (read oil interests) as manifestations of those who ask uncomfortable questions. No, better check out The Seahawks or Justin Bieber to stay safe. The fix is in. The game is rigged. I don't think the current system is fixable. The tiny hand full of politicians who do have everyday people's interest at heart are too few and far between. The funny or perhaps scary part is, we all know it. I write about it here on this blog. People may bring it up after a few too many drinks. I don't know of anyone who likes to think too deeply past their own time here on Earth. It's too damn scary. What do parents think? "Oh, it will work out some way or another. The kids will be fine." I hope there are not many that really feel this way. That's some sad shit. I've listened to people say, "It's harder to rock the boat with kids." Personally, I cannot think of a more important reason to rock the boat. Tip that fucker over, and teach the kids to swim. They'll thank you in the long run. Do more than bitch!

I write and try to educate both myself and others. I try to play the game as little as possible. I drive a small car that's really good on gas to and from work. It's close. My car barely has time to warm up in the winter. No, it is not enough. Far from it. But if we each take a step, the outcome can be different. We don't have to passively watch the nightmare of ever deepening and growing conflict over oil unfold. Make noise! Raise hell! We are not alone. If enough people take action, the path to a world with much little to no oil can be less violent. A lot of people will disagree with me on this one but I say don't vote. Voting is only an illusion of a democratic process as long as corporations fund the elections. The only way to beat a rigged game is stop playing. Who would listen to a congress that only could muster a 2% turn out? Everybody would know that's bullshit. I'd say there's an outside chance this can be done peacefully. Violence is a big part of the rigged game already in place. Keeping things peaceful also is a game changer. Even the darkest regimes have a tough time killing off peaceful demonstrators. The do from time to time but there is a high cost that goes along with it. Ask Mubarak. Oh! He's dead. No, just unavailable for comment. Governments do violence-- people don't. Change the game. Make government play by our rules. Rule number one- Non-Violence. Remember you're not alone!  Check out the following:

Occupy Wall St Yes, they are still around. 

Idle No More Follow the link. Check them out. 

Americans Against Fracking You got it! 

Greenpeace Hell Raisers. But for the right reasons.  

Amnesty International Human Rights. 

Green Party If You still want to vote, consider Green. I'll vote for them as well. 

Story Time!

All the time is story time with us. The truth (that’s small t truth) is we don’t know for sure where we came from or why we are here much less where we are going. So being story tellers, we came up with gods, goddesses and all kinds of fun myths. Moma earth and papa sky got busy and here we are! We cannot stand ambiguity. There has to be a reason for everything or at least a good story. This is the whole point of religion. It gives some of us a workable story to explain life. Be good and go to heaven or be bad and go to hell, what could be more simple and easy to follow? We individually create our own versions of reality based on all the stories we learn. Christians are not taught the stories of Buddha or The Profit Mohamed. I think religion is largely dependant on geography. Where on earth are people taught about all the major religions and then choose which one they will follow? No, we learn based on where we are born. Sadly, we are also told ours is the one True (capital T) story! Anyone with a few brain cells and a reliable internet connection can plainly see the problems this has lead to. But stories (narratives) determine so much of our lives.

Here in the United States we are taught a national narrative (known as history classes). For most it is a series of events, people and dates. The details add up to we being a free people who are a shining example to all on how everyone should live. We like the story so much we share it with others (often at gun point) thinking they are really Americans just waiting to come out! Majeed would be much happier working in a factory or owning a small store than working his own land. We are sure of it! Perhaps if we blow up his house, he will see it our way. Yes, this is an absurdity but is this not the underlying narrative behind our wars in the Middle East? Be like us (and sell us your resources at rock bottom prices) and everything will be just great! Most people here are only taught the “good guy” narrative of the United States and that’s why we continue to wage wars around the world. In Iraq we had to take out an evil dictator who was a threat to the region (oil supplies) and the rest of the world. Afghanistan was crawling with terrorist types who wanted to do us harm. Call in the air strikes and send in the Army Rangers! The narrative is simplistic and easy to follow, kind of like religious stories. Anything that contradicts the narrative of the USA as the “good guy” is all too often swept under the rug or written off via the “few bad apples” story line. We use stories here at home as well.

The average narrative goes something like this, study hard in school, stay out of trouble, go to college, get a good job working for the man, get married, buy a nice house, have kids and live happily ever after. This story has a title. It is called The “American Dream”. For many, that’s all it is- a dream. Those who do not follow the plot to the letter are given labels (another entry for a later time), criminal, deviant, weirdo and so on. Those who want to live another storyline are cause for fear and dealt with accordingly. They are often excluded (poor minorities), have fewer rights (so called gay people) subject to harassment (both poor and gays) and muted (not allowed to tell stories, marginalized). To see this in action, all one needs to do is take a trip to their closest Department of Social Services or local unemployment office and simply sit in the drab lobby for an hour or two. Look at who goes in to use these services. Also, pay attention to where these services are rendered. Chances are they in out of the way places in areas far away from “The American Dream”.

DISCLAIMER!! I pretty much live the prescribed narrative. That said, I’ve come to realize there are other stories out there.

Where do we get the stories / narratives that guide us? I think the answer is simple. They come from the most powerful who want to maintain things as they are. A good example is our election process here in the United States. Three hundred plus people are allowed to “choose” between only two political parties, Democrats and Republicans. Stan Goff makes a good argument here this is not much of a choice. He argues that not voting in an alternative way of bring about real change. How could either party claim a mandate to rule if only a small percentage of us turn out to vote? I think of it as voting by other means, with our feet. Both parties do little if anything to change the dominant discourse of neo-liberalism. Free markets can solve all of our problems if allowed to run free from interference. There is overwhelming evidence to the contrary; global warming, resource wars, crushing poverty, environmental degradation, and modern slavery just to name a few. The information is out there but one has to look for it. It will not come from the powerful who control the vast majority of media outlets. Neither party questions the neo-liberal narrative. As a result, we get lip service from the Democrats on global warming and out right denial from the Republicans. Both parties use the same techniques to continue unwarranted and unjustifiable wars and have done so for decades. You can simply google the documentary “War Made Easy” for another narrative about war and judge for yourself. I’m interested in the super-rich vs. the rest of us narrative because it seems to explain much of what goes on. But there are other explanations as well and mine may NOT be right.

Look, I could patter on and on about how we use stories in almost every aspect of our lives and I think it will be a good topic for more writings later on. If you have read this far, my hope is you will start to see stories everywhere and think about whom the writer is and ask why is it written and who is it written for, figuratively speaking.

Thanks.

-Paul

Honor a Vet -- Ask Questions.

Sure it is good to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the country. But we need to be careful. Worshipping the military only leads to bad things. In addition to remembering those who have served, we would do well to think about why it is necessary. Reasonable people accept the argument of self-defense. I’m allowed to defend myself from some one who wants to do me harm. But when was the last war we fought for self-defense? Iraq? I don’t believe so. Granada? We needed the Marines and a carrier battle group to take down a fruit stand! The Gulf War? Was Kuwait a state I just never learned about? Vietnam? Was Uncle Ho a credible threat to California? Korea? We may have had a little more reason to be there than some of the others but it is a little stretch to say The North was a threat to the USA. World War II? I can accept this. How about Afghanistan? Yes but more… No. We have a legitimate goal of not wanting terrorist attacks originating from here but is keeping Karzai in power through hook and crook legitimate? Who dares to ask?

Yes, we do need a military but we owe it to them to ask questions. There are those out there who want to do us harm sure, but who gets to say who? In remembering “The Troops” we do them a great disservice by not asking hard questions about why, when and where they are sent. They go where they are told and leave it up to us to insure it is for legitimate reasons. I think we are failing our fellow citizens in the military miserably. We buy the spin of both parties while rarely asking any questions. Can anyone tell me what WMD’s were found in Iraq that was worth the life of a single army soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine? If this was indeed a big fat lie, who lost their job over it, much less went to prison? Have we learned anything?

It is painfully clear to anyone with more than two brain cells our involvement in Vietnam was based lies and falsehoods. Just google “False flag operations.” The suffering from this conflict forty plus years ago is still with us today. More US Vietnam Vets have now committed suicide than were lost in all the fighting. Vietnamese still suffer from unexploded bombs killing people, cancers related to chemicals used by the US and birth defects. We take no responsibility for these actions. Instead, a little time goes by and the whole cycle repeats itself. The names and tools change. Booby traps become IED’s. Vietcong are known as terrorists. Westmoreland has morphed into Petraeus, Nixon and Johnson are now played by two guys named Bush and Obama. Then as now, the military does as it is told.

Want to really honor the troops? Ask questions.