ya, ya, ya!

If everyone demanded peace
instead of another television set,
then there'd be peace.
--- John Lennon

VOTING WITH YOUR DOLLARS

Look at what you buy. Who is selling it?
Who makes it? WTF? wtf? ha! When you buy a product you are essentially giving it your vote. You're giving the company that makes it your vote, your giving the way it's made your vote, you're giving the dude who makes a profit on your choice your vote, you are giving him more power from the money to influence the changes he or she wants made in the world. Try to make sure it's the change you want to see in the world.

Just this simple thing. What do you want? How do you get what you want? Is it local? Is it plastic? Plastic is made from OIL! Don't you think the friggin' oil companies have enough money and influence? Take a look at the tax breaks they get and you won't need to wonder about that last question. Lord, have mercy!

Have you seen some of the shit we buy? Yikes! Think about that latté, that cappucino, think about the cup it's in. But you say our system and our economy depend upon me buying all this useless stuff, what about the guy who makes it, etc., etc? Well if you are able to extrapolate that nonsense, just take it a step farther and think about a paradigm shift of sorts.

For god's sake, or god's saké, look at the shit you have. It's shit. And it's going to end up in a land fill some day. Think about a land fill. Think about that car. Think about cars... yes, lets.

You know as my son was taking driving lessons, AT THE HIGH SCHOOL!, I thought to myself; "Why do they have driving lessons at the high school?" And the first thing that came to mind was that is was more egalitarian to do it that way, then all kids regardless have a chance to learn to drive. But then another more cynical thought came to mind. Well, if they learn to drive, and it is an integral part of their coming of age, that solidifies the bankroll for the auto industry, the auto insurance industry, the oil industry, the road construction industry, etc. So I'm thinking it's more of the latter than the former. It may factor into the decision, but I'm sure dollar signs were the real motivator when it came to putting driving classes into the public schools.

So after all that, the paradigm shift is away from capitalism. After all, how long can this be sustained? Realistically, how many consumables can be consumed? Look at the impact on the earth. But how will we sustain our way of life? How will we maintain our standard of living? Health Care? Food? How will we buy anything? Yikes. How will we indeed?

This all makes me wonder about the symbiosis between capitalism and democracy. I really don't think there is any. Now socialism and democracy seem a little more in line with each other, but then comes communism... was Marx right? Maybe there is a new model no one's thunk up. Or maybe we'd end up with the Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

Anyone who's played Monopoly knows what happens in real free-market capitalism... someone ends up with Boardwalk and Park Place and puts 2 hotels on them and all you have to do is land there once and you're done. That's pretty much the way it is now here in the US. So what's next? We lay down and take it? Or is there a cultural revolution that can moderate the plutocrats? Does it start by demanding peace? Could there be a peace-time economy? What model would we follow for that? Is there one?

Remember, demanding war puts money in the pockets of war mongers, designers of killing apparatus, and unscrupulous opportunists. How does one cultivate a peaceful and generous society? Does it always become fascism? Does peaceful society mean different things to different people? Free of anxiety? Free of want? Free of violence? What does it mean?

Maybe we shouldn't be so afraid of discovering what it means to say no to some of the shit they try to sell us. Maybe we need to have the courage to lose our job, sell our house, eat beans instead of meat. Find a new culture. It is "hard work" said the sniveling idiot in the white house. Yes, it is hard work. Hard work to insure some creep like him and his ilk are not given the opportunity to exploit the resources of our country like they have been doing unrestrained for these many years. What is wrong with the masses? Why don't we know we have the power? Why are so many fooled?

The obvious place to start this cultural revolution would be saying no to war. War we perpetuate, wars we fund. How did those in power ever convince the people of the US that any country could actually be a bigger threat to us than ourselves? How could they convince us that war is the answer?

Choosing peace isn't just a matter of making a sign and going out and protesting. It is choices that you make everyday by the purchases you make. Educate and inform yourself the best you can about the way you use your dollars. Vote with your dollars for peace. Take the revolution to the market place. Sustainable, inhabitable worlds are within our reach, we just have to have the will to take over and be responsible for ourselves.