RUNNING OUT OF CHANGE: Reader Comments

These comments are in response to the article RUNNING OUT OF CHANGE: Why it's so hard to make good things happen. Feel free to add your comments.

- I chose exile a quarter of a century ago, but find it useless since the arm of the US government and bad business practices stretch far and wide. . . contaminating everything they touch. There are enough people throughout the world unhappy enough with their own governments, however, to want to join hands in an out and out opposition to things as they are: to start with, centralized government and a war economy...

Ignorance may be bliss to most, but it also spells the end of the world to all...

This morning, a quote from Galileo Galilei appeared on my TV screen to the effect that there are plenty of people able to speak in dark and confusing terms, but few able to express ideas clearly. . . .

A citizen's agenda for use in all countries could be elaborated with few, clearly stated goals... including: the demand that governments be excused from the task of penalizing people for their private behavior... i.e. to say, that no action can be a matter of concern for government where there is no clear victim: victimless crimes must disappear. . .

That is one. Another is that centralized governments also should be excused from granting resident visas or citizenship . . . that the latter should be handled by families and institutions (trade-unions, schools etc. . . ) at the local level: in effect, unless the nation-state is dismantled in just such a reasonable fashion, we will all cease to exist, sooner than later. . .- Mamadoc-in-Mexico

- Before reading Derrick Jensen's "End Game," I was thoroughly convinced that the human race would not survive the coming environmental collapse, but that after a couple of thousand years, green would dominate again, and animals too would return. "End Game," as dire as it is, has had a profound effect on me. Jensen postulates, along the lines of Lewis Mumford and Stanley Diamond, that the only "sustainable" form of life for human beings is the "primitive," as exemplified by various North American and African social groups who had retained the same culture -- each a profound one, far "deeper" than McNation -- for at least ten thousand years by forming an ecological relationship with their respective "land bases."

Ultimately, the "crash" will occur, whether it be in the form of "peak oil" or irrevocable climate change or some other disaster. Millions, perhaps billions will die. But those who remain, whether 10 million or 100 million, will have the opportunity of going "back" to the sustainable land-based ecologies of the "primitives." No nation states, just thousands of small communities, each living according to its land base -- whether the land provides salmon or buffalo or wild fruits and grains -- and avoiding the agriculture-based city economy (entailing slaves, armies, forced "trade" etc.) that began the whole mess 6,000 years ago. In short, civilization is the problem, and the sooner it is demolished, the better chances future generations might have to survive

I was so inspired by "End Game" I interviewed Jensen and wrote an essay/review for Counterpunch, Dissident Voice, and the "usual suspects" of left/progressive websites.

But looking back, this offers little hope to the living, or even their grandchildren. If the only goal is to "take down civilization" to precipitate a collapse, the only beneficiaries will be -- possibly -- born in about a hundred years. Grim. Grim. But I was coming from a place which despaired of human survival at any level.

The only other "choice," Jensen argues, to "precipitating collapse" is to watch it happen as it is currently happening, at which point the corporacracy might indeed burn that final ten percent of "life" and leave nothing at all for possible future generations. Even if we were to see "peace on earth" tomorrow, with Israel giving half of its holdings to the Palestinians and the U.S. destroying its arsenal, we'd still be doomed unless drastic changes are made in the economy within the next few years -- which is almost guaranteed not to happen.

But I wonder. Is that all that's left? Suicidal self-sacrifice or mind-numbing despair? It's not as if such horrors hadn't happened, on a smaller scale. Black Elk watched as his world disappeared through slaughter and starvation. Why should we expect a "magic hand" -- one that Adam Smith never dreamed of -- to save us when "Atlas Shrugs" in a way Ayn Rand never dreamed? - Adam Engel

- This left me breathless.

- This piece has made me weep with the futility of fighting . . .made me feel perhaps we are already indeed in the cage and just running around imagining freedom. . . imagining change is possible. But, it made me resilient and determined too. Intelligent writers and thinkers exist alongside the many who don't know where to turn and I strongly believe that the wise who are on our side - will impact.

To the question. . . "Many Democrats, Greens, and Libertarians agree on some critical issues. Why is it so difficult to create cross-over coalitions on matters such as civil liberties?" ...I would recommend reading www.kevinzeese.com to see this starting to happen.

To the question..."Couldn't we at least have a button or logo - as with the peace symbol in the 60s - that would help us to know how many others draw from the same well of the soul?"...I would recommend checking www.armsagainstwar.info - even if it is a vain suggestion!

To the rest of the questions - thank you beyond words for the gift of thought and discussion that will lead to ...something? I will circulate this well observed and written widly and hope those receiving it will do the same. - Tina Louise

- You have put your finger on why it's harder to do today some of the things that used to work and why things we're doing today aren't working. And thanks for pointing us in the direction of adjusting our thinking to what might actually work.

One of the toughest things to overcome is the widespread belief that we can't make positive change. The view is false, and there are lots of examples to prove it, but that view has certainly neutralized a lot of people who might otherwise join the fight. As a wise friend put, the problem is the colonization of our minds. Tough but not impossible to break out of. Onward - Caleb