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There Is No Need To Wait For Revolution Or Paradise

CAITLIN JOHNSTONE
JAN 05, 2025
 

There is no need to wait for the great revolution to begin fighting against our rulers. There is no need to wait for things to get better to experience this world as paradise. The time for both of these things is now.

Right at this very moment you can begin a daily practice of sowing the seeds of revolution. You as an individual cannot defeat the empire yourself, but it is absolutely within your power to open a few people’s eyes to the reality that the status quo is unacceptable, and that a better world is possible. It is absolutely within your power to show people how they’ve been lied to their whole lives about their country, their society and their world, and to show people how they are currently being deceived about stories that are in the news today.

You have an ability to share ideas and information which revolutionaries of past generations could only dream of. You can make a daily practice of using these unprecedented abilities to expand awareness of what’s wrong with our society and how to fix it, in your own words exactly as you see things. There is no need to wait for the deus ex machina ending of Marxian prophecy where the contradictions inherent in capitalism give rise to revolution. You as an individual can begin planting the seeds of revolution right now.

And right at this very moment you can begin experiencing this world as paradise. Even in the thick of this nightmarish dystopia, this moment right here and now is electrifyingly beautiful. You can learn to look at this human experience with new eyes, hear it with new ears, feel it with new flesh, in each and every moment. As fucked up as we know things are intellectually, there is nothing stopping us from learning to relish each moment of life on this amazing blue planet and to suck in its air like a passionate lover.

So there’s nothing to wait for. Not revolution, and not the beautiful world we want to build once we have wrested control away from our abusive rulers. Both revolution and beauty are available to you right now. Don’t waste another second of your life waiting for them.

You’re not at the bus stop, you’re on the bus. Get to work, angel.

_______________

Caitlin’s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece here are some options where you can toss some money into my tip jar if you want to. Go here to find video versions of my articles. If you’d prefer to listen to audio of these articles, you can subscribe to them on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud or YouTube. Go hereto buy paperback editions of my writings from month to month. All my work is free to bootleg and use in any way, shape or form; republish it, translate it, use it on merchandise; whatever you want. The best way to make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. All works co-authored with my husband Tim Foley.

 

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Right, Left, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right…..

Right, Left, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right…..

The former Centre has become the Far Left.

The former Left has joined forces with the former Centre, 

together making up the Far Left.

They are both considered creepy.

Meanwhile, the former Right has become the Centre Right.  

The original Right has been abolished.

The former Right, now considered to be the Centre Right

has been described as the Far Right, by the Far Left,

who consider them dangerous.

The Greens talk a lot and drink even more.

The Bloc represents it’s own country that hasn’t yet

evolved to the right/left parody.  Attache la tuque!

Where does that leave the anarchists?

Surely the massive upheaval in party politics 

has created an opportunity for the anarchists 

who were never able to tell Right from Left in the first place.

Anarchy:

“the organization of society on the basis of voluntary cooperation, 

without political institutions or hierarchies”

Lam

Open Letter to the Honourable Minister of Transportation Farnworth and BC Ferries’ Commissioner Hage

Open Letter

Subject:  Sham Fire Safety System on the Baynes Sound Connector: B.C.Ferries’   Gaslighting Calls for Strong Government Oversight

Dear Honourable Minister of Transportation Farnworth and Commissioner Hage:  

B.C. Ferries has yet to inform Denman and Hornby islanders why the Baynes Sound Connector has been loading up to 25% fewer vehicles per sailing for over the last holiday week or when full service will return. The corporation’s silence is not only frustrating for ferry-dependent islanders, but is a violation of the BCF Commissioner’s directive to report service changes promptly and transparently.  An industry expert and islander, however, believes that the service reduction is due to BCF finally doing something about the vessel’s sham fire safety system because hydrants are not connected to hoses, pumps, and safety equipment for staff and the cable ferry lacks a  necessary backup fire safety system.   

This overlooked fire safety issue is just one of many problems afflicting the cable ferry.  Its cable system, for example, is a frequent cause of lengthy service cancellations. In addition to crab pots and other objects tangling in the cables, a cable could fall off if the vessel runs in winds higher than 39 knots.  Last May, when a cable dropped off on a windless day, the service interruptions that extended over a three day period were dramatic for islanders.  Some resorted to hiring a private boat, like Gracie MacDonald who describes her harrowing experience when trying to get her dying brother to a hospital in the press (https://thediscourse.ca/comox-valley/denman-island-resident-calls-for-investigation-into-bc-ferries-cable-ferry).

In the same article a BCF spokesperson gaslights islanders’ experiences and feelings by claiming that cancellations are “below the average percentage of cancellations across the entire BCF system” that “0.3% (03% or 30%?) were cancelled due to mechanical issues, and that the reliability of Route 21 has improved by a 40% reduction in mechanical-related cancellations.This is a classic example of gaslighting, as the Anderson Review lists a number of unresolved mechanical failures that explain the service problems and FOI sources, union members, and MLA Josie Osbourne, confirm that Route 21 has the highest number of mechanical-related service interruptions in the fleet. 

Although islanders hoped that CEO Jimenez would correct the mistakes of past leadership by replacing the cable ferry and stop the gaslighting, he has continued his predecessor’s pattern of underreporting cancellations, (ZERO were reported in the 2023/24 Annual Service Report); and repeats in service reports to the the Commissioner, the former CEO’s 2015 claim in service reports to the Commissioner that the cable ferry provides service on a par with its predecessor, the Quinitsa.

BCF’s claim that the current budget cycle doesn’t provide for replacement is neither convincing nor in compliance with the Coastal Ferry Act that compels the corporation to provide safe and reliable service to ferry-dependent islanders. Quadra, for example, has two of the six new Island Class Ferries even though it competes with Denman as the busiest and most profitable of the short routes.  Many islanders believe that aside from saving face for making a bad decision,  BCF is keeping the cable ferry in service to support the deception that the cable ferry is a success and even exceeding corporate expectations;  and to save face because islanders who opposed replacing a reliable vessel with a risky experiment predicted the mechanical problems that are confirmed in the 2023 Anderson Review of the Baynes Sound Connector. 

This review, which was authorized by the Commissioner in response to the high number of customer complaints, contradicts the BCF spokesperson’s claim that the mechanical issues are being resolved, as it lists a number of unresolved mechanical issues that account for the frequent breakdowns.  It states also that the vessel is slower and costs more than anticipated, but omits to discuss the multiple issues and exceptionally high expenses of the cable system. The review concludes with offering four or five options for the corporation to consider— from decommissioning the vessel to stretching it.  BCF chose the latter cheapest and most irrational option!  Islanders are fearful that BCF is still considering stretching the cable ferry because the current budget provides funds for adding deck space. 

Without strong government oversight, islanders can expect BCF to continue to gaslight and place budget over safety and service reliability.  This is indicated by their decisions involving not only the Baynes Sound Connector, but the Coastal Renaissance and the Queen of New Westminster.  Bill 7, which your predecessor tabled in 2022, would provide the needed changes to the Coastal Ferry Act and legislation for strong oversight. 

Given ample evidence of BCF violating the Coastal Ferry Act, the Commissioner’s directives, and  the corporation’s code of ethics, I am appealing once again to MOTI and to the NDP/Green coalition government to compel BCF to replace a proven failed cable ferry experiment with one of the available Island Class Ferries.  

 

Respectfully,

Sharon Small,

Denman Islander

Shucking Oysters: Exit Stage Right

Not too sure who Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s handlers are lately, but the optics are not looking good. Since finance minister Chrystia Freeland was so ungraciously demoted, followed by her not-so-quiet resignation at the end of December, Trudeau has said little publicly. And now, along with most Canadians, members of his inner circle are calling on him to resign. 

With his background as a night club bouncer, part-time drama teacher and snow board instructor, playing the role of prime minister is simply too great a leap for someone with Justin’s range. Or, should we say, lack of range. He only has one tone of voice and one facial expression. Even his socks have more charisma. Brian Lilley wrote that while the world stage has become a much more dangerous and serious place over the past few years, “Trudeau is still playing sock diplomacy.” For Justin, “it’s always about performative politics and virtue signalling.”

No matter how hard he may try, Justin never had his father’s talent for brilliant bon mots or clever retorts. He’s not even remotely playful, unless you call wearing a blackface and turban funny. Père Pierre even made flipping the finger look cool. With the air-head apparent, everything Justin says and does seems like a contrived act, in robotic Disney Prince mode. 

Justin Trudeau is desperate to be loved. But beware of his dark side. If you “fail to reflect back to him his narcissistic projections,” by holding a different opinion, or acting independently, you are a traitor. Jodie and Chrystia, in particular, have seen his insecure colours, and no doubt, his ex-wife, Sophie, was stifled for years.  

For power players like questionable Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum, Trudeau’s hollowness has great value. Justin is impressionable and a few strategic strokes to his ego will give even more control to the wrong powers-that-be. How an under-qualified individual like Justin Trudeau became prime minister — and stayed there — is the stuff of unprecedented political folly, as someone said. Other world leaders have wondered as well. If he’s not putting his socked foot in his mouth, he’s being socked in the mouth.

One guy in particular is relishing in his taunts, from demoting Trudeau to governor to making Canada the 51st state, and even suggesting that Wayne Gretsky take over leadership. Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, who was poised to replace Freeland as finance minister, was among the first to publicly condemn the repeated jabs, saying Trump’s remarks about “Governor Justin Trudeau” were “carrying the ‘joke’ too far.” 

Carleton University professor Aaron Ettinger, who studied Canada-US relations during the first Trump presidency said, “These are taunts; these are churlish provocations that are not mature, and do not reflect just how serious the coming trade war is.” 

“We know his moves. He makes fun of, he belittles, he mocks, because he can,” Ettinger said. But he said that a vacuum of leadership in Ottawa from an embattled prime minister is spurring “the freelancing of some of the provincial leaders” in response to Trump’s comments.

Word on the Ottawa streets is that Trudeau will not stay on to lead the Liberals in the next election. A non-confidence motion is in the wings and when the House of Commons returns at the end of January it will probably pass and bring on an immediate election in the spring. With NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announcing days after Freeland quit cabinet that he is now ready to vote down the government, Trudeau’s departure seems imminent. 

What would Justin’s legacy be? Wearing cool socks? Unlike his father, Justin does not have many options upon leaving the stage of politics. After his retirement, Pierre joined a Montreal law firm, remained active in international affairs, and released his  “Memoirs,” one of the most successful Canadian books ever published.  

When Justin steps down, it doesn’t seem likely that he will follow the usual trajectory of a retired prime minister. Can you see him providing strategic advice to corporate clients on managing global geopolitical risks or becoming a high-profile public speaker? Even having a comfy board of director position would be more symbolic than strategic. So, what’s the badly-chosen-one to do? Mark’s Work Wearhouse model? CHEKTV news anchor? Or, he could always follow the marketing genius of his McRibbing cousin down south. 

Trump has long delighted in finding new ways to market his name, creating a HUGE merchandise empire that includes pricey gold TRUMP sneakers and autographed TRUMP Bibles. Want to intimidate the gang at the gym? How about an exclusive gold TRUMP crested pickle ball paddle for $180?

The Trudeau Corporation, already exists — a leader in housewares, since 1889 — but Justin could call his venture simply, the Trudeau Empire. Socks of course, would be the signature brand. Star Wars socks. Red maple leaf socks. Rainbow striped socks. Black face socks. And a Sunny Ways clothing line, featuring $250 slim fitting white jeans and $175 dress shirts with permanent rolled up sleeves.

And not to be TRUMPed, he could also launch his own fragrance line at $199 a bottle. For the women, “Thrown Under the Bus” with diesel notes that give the perfume a distinctly masculine edge without being overpowering. For the men, “Dream On,” a cologne that has a long-lasting narcissistic fragrance, with a hint of fruity delusion. 

At the national Liberal caucus holiday party, Trudeau did obliquely speak to his handling of the Freeland scenario: “It hasn’t been easy, and that’s why I’m so happy to see you guys. Like most families, sometimes we have fights around the holidays. But of course, like most families, we find our way through it.” 

Yes, Justin, nothing screams family dysfunction like awkwardly smiling your way through another happy holiday.  

— With files from The Canadian Press and The Washington Post.

Holiday Hampers 

The heart of Denman was evident in this year’s Holiday Hampers program.  Facilitated by DICES, the community of Denman comes together each year to share resources in the spirit of giving.  The generous financial support of locals in our community combined with a sizable donation from the 2024 Victoria Times Colonist Christmas Fund, we are able to purchase food for a special holiday meal, a few staples, some sweet treats and gifts for 88 people in 42 households.  

The process of packing the hampers, wrapping the gifts and delivering the hampers requires a team of dedicated volunteers.  This year 43 volunteers came out to share their energy and enthusiasm for this community to create each hamper.  Special thank you to Roxanna Mandryk, Nandy Anderson, JoAnne Shepherd and Debbie Frketich for heading up the wrapping and packing teams.  Your energy and attention to detail created an efficient environment of collective enthusiasm.   Another big thank you to Bee Balm and team for creating homemade pies for each hamper.  To everyone who showed up to get the food, do the recycling, set up the tables, pack the hampers and wrap the presents – thanks for showing up for your community.  

The Holiday Hampers could not happen without the help of our local businesses. We would especially like to thank the Denman Island General Store (Jennifer!) for ordering and refrigerating food; Two Roads Farms (Emily!) for growing and selling high quality vegetables at reasonable prices; the Denman Island Hardware Store (Graham and Verna!) for hosting the gift donation box;  and Home Town Shredders (Evan!)  who provided all the boxes for the hampers. Much gratitude to Saputo (Dairyland) as an important donor of food this year.  

To everyone who donated gifts and those who donated funds to purchase gifts – your thoughtful generosity was evident this year in the quality and quantity of gifts we received for children, youth and adults.  

Thanks for your amazing generosity in the form of time, energy, funds, food and gifts, Denman. Happy New Year!

Green Wizardries, Spring is Coming!

As this is my first article of 2025, I thought I might do a prediction for the year ahead but then I decided that would be a real downer.  I expect 2025 to be an exciting year, but not in a good way.  So, I decided to get to the heart of the matter which is what can we do to make ourselves comfortable and happy in 2025?  

Gardening is the key to getting through 2025 in good order and with good morale.  I expect many of us would be happier if we spent more time outside and less time looking at the gladiatorial combat that has become the norm for Provincial, Federal and international politics.    I know the spectacle of the various wars and slaughters of civilian populations has a sickening fascination but watching it does no good and robs us of valuable life energy.  

So, the first thing you will need to garden successfully in 2025 is good potting soil.  Having an ample and free source of potting soil allows the gardener to inexpensively start tender seedlings inside, long before we could plant outside.  Planting inside allows us to steal a march on the cold, blustery springs we normally get.  I also like to start seedlings inside so I can plant them out when they are big enough to resist the attentions of any stray slugs.  

There is still time to start the potting soil which needs to be equal parts of finished compost, leaf mould and a bit of sand.  There are still leaves to rake up.  I favour the broad-leaf maple leaves.  I usually have my hens shred them up and then poop on the leaves which starts them composting and by spring, I have heaps of lovely fine leaf mould.  

If you do not have hens, you can pile the leaves up in compost boxes.  Pour human urine over the leaves.  This will help them to compost and break down.  The nitrogen in the urine attaches to the carbon in the leaves.  Plants know how to extract the nitrogen.   

At this point, I usually get a confused question about how one acquires human urine.  Pee in a bucket!  If you would like more comfort, it is easy to make a nice Jenkins commode which is a wooden box with a bucket inside and a seat and a lid.  If you would like instructions on how to make such an article, the, “Humanure Handbook,” by Joseph Jenkins has instructions on how to build one.  They are super convenient for power outages and save a great deal of water!

If you do not have access to leaves, the same effect can be had by fluffing a couple of bales of hay into a compost box and pouring urine over it.  In either case, turning the compost weekly will get you some nice stuff to use in your potting soil.  

The finished compost should consist of food scraps, dry matter such as leaves, straw or hay and animal manure.  If you have two compost boxes side by side, it is easy to flip the compost from the full to the empty box.  

I buy sand from Dave Lang who has very good prices and is reliable and pleasant to do business with.  Every few years, I get a truckload of sand from Dave and use it to lighten the heavy clay soil in my garden.  I also use a few shovels’ full of screened sand for every wheelbarrow of potting soil we make.  

We measure half leaf mould and half finished compost into a wheelbarrow and add a bit of sand.  I had a recipe but years ago, we just started mixing the potting soil by eye and it works fine.  If you add too much sand, you will know.  Just add a few more shovels of compost and mix it in.  We keep the potting soil in a covered garbage can in the greenhouse by the potting table.

It has been such a very warm winter that I was able to prune my Marion berries very late.  This is a fiddly job and a stout pair of dry leather gloves makes it much easier.  Thorns do not pass though the dry leather.  

I found many baby Marion berry plants as the vines start new plants when they are long enough to touch the ground.  I have clipped the starts off and am keeping them in a pot of soil in the greenhouse.  If anyone would like some Marion starts, please call me at 335-1088 and I will set some out for you.  

If you plant them this year, you will not get much fruit but next year, those vines will be established and give a good harvest.  The berries are similar to a blackberry but appear several weeks earlier, are much larger and taste excellent. The deer are not interested in them nor are the birds.  

The Choice is Ours to Make

Reflecting on this last year, I was hoping to do a somewhat philosophical piece, offering perspective for those grappling with maintaining well-being in a world fraught with climate crisis, violence and suffering.

It is impossible for me, however, to focus on the well-being of the privileged, without needing to suppress awareness of the ongoing agony of Palestinians in Gaza. Israel may have distracted attention from them, by its pager attacks on Lebanese civilians, its daily bombing raids on Syria’s infrastructure, its ongoing provocations of Iran, its devastating assaults on the West Bank, its targeting of Yemen, not to mention the internal chaos and societal disintegration that is occurring inside its own “borders”, but Gazans suffer on. Their suffering has not stopped for one day since the week-long truce a year ago.

Gazan’s broken Ministry of Health can no longer track numbers of dead and missing. The UN’s civil defense teams, first responders and groups like Medecins sans Frontieres have repeatedly had to withdraw personnel from attempted aid deliveries because too many have been killed by targeted Israeli fire.

Gaza now has the largest number of child amputees in the world. Doctors in locations throughout Gaza report gunshot wounds to children directly in the head. Over 70% of Gaza’s population has been displaced at least once. The most recent report of Human Rights Watch details Israel’s deprivation of clean water to Gazans as a genocidal tool. Amnesty International’s latest report is on Israel’s horrifying practice of starvation as a means of genocide.

Kamal Adwan Hospital was one of the last semi-functioning hospitals in northern Gaza, an area which was formerly home to close to one million people.

This same hospital was invaded by the Israeli army a year ago and soldiers found no evidence of Hamas presence. I remember an October, 2023, conversation with a Zionist friend who was extremely concerned that Israel had bombed another hospital, Al Shifa, and felt huge relief that the bombing may have been caused by Gazans. Israel had posted fake audio tapes of Gazans supposedly planning to attack the hospital, which were soon discredited. (The strong Israeli accents were a clear giveaway.) The “most moral army in the world” surely would not bomb a hospital, according to my friend’s Zionist perspective. I sometimes wonder how this person now manages to justify the Israeli military’s relentless, intentional pattern of targeting not only hospitals and medical care facilities throughout Gaza, but also killing those attempting to bring aid – food, water & medical supplies – to these facilities.

The cruelty of Israeli execution of this particular target – hospitals – is hard to fathom. Reports by Palestinian journalist Tareq Hajjaj from inside Gaza describe robots dropping boxes of explosives outside Kamal Adwan hospital for remote detonation; medics returning to their homes for rest only to have their home blown up upon their arrival; soldiers forcing women

evacuees to remove all their clothing; denial of delivery of food, water and medicines, and soldiers’ videos celebrating the humiliation and suffering of their Palestinian victims.

Dr. Hassam Abu Safiya, the steadfast and courageous Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, says they have pleaded for help from the world for months now; he details the military’s land and air siege of over 75 days on the hospital and makes clear his intention: “We will leave when the last Palestinian leaves”. (Tareq Hajjaj, Mondoweiss, 27 December, 2024.) As of December 27, 2024, the hospital, which held 350 patients and staff, has been rendered inoperable, has been mostly destroyed by fire, and is cut off from communication with the outside world. Dr. Abu Safiya along with numerous others, has been taken by the army, his whereabouts unknown.

So now another of the few hospitals still semi-functioning in northern Gaza has been destroyed, with doctors, patients and hospital staff forced at gunpoint to leave and walk south. Israel now has built a 2.5km. wide “corridor” separating northern Gaza from southern Gaza, so it is able to delineate the area it plans to steal, and according to the Israeli “General’s Plan”, rebuild and populate with settlers.

Further to that end, Israel has established a “resort” (Jonathan Ofir, Mondoweiss, 27 December,2024) in a desalination plant in northern Gaza, near the now-decimated, heavily populated Jabalia refugee Camp. There its soldiers can enjoy their r & r, replete with popcorn, cotton candy & espresso machines, massages & games rooms. Yoav Zeitoun, an embedded journalist writing about the resort for Israeli paper Ynet (in Hebrew) considers it to be a permanent establishment. “We make dreams come true for the soldiers”, he quotes the military as saying. Jonathan Ofir compares it to the chilling movie about the family living next door to Auschwitz, Zone of Interest, but says it’s different because this “resort” is not at the edge of a concentration camp, it is inside one.

This is a time for us to stand up for what Helena Cobban calls “the rules-based international order” (italics mine). As she puts it, “during 2024 Israel and its close collaborator, the Biden administration … punched ever more forcefully and more destructively through all the norms and structures that have constituted that order since 1945”. One of the key components of international law was the protection of hospitals and medics during warfare. “Hospitals…are afforded special protections in times of conflict under the Geneva Conventions and all other instruments of international humanitarian law. (Globalities, Just World Education, 28 December, 2024.) We in the West, who, it might be pointed out, created that body of international law, are fully complicit. Can we stand with the majority of humankind in upholding these institutions, systems and carefully crafted laws designed to protect civilians and wounded soldiers alike in times of violent conflict? Or will we allow that moral vision, supposedly intended for all humanity, to collapse under the weight of Western hegemony? If not, our blatant hypocrisy will be our legacy. The choice is ours to make.

Humanity Must Awaken From The Dream Of Separation

CAITLIN JOHNSTONE
DEC 27, 2024
 

We suffer because we erroneously believe we are separate. It’s why humans suffer as individuals, and it’s why humanity creates so much suffering as a collective.

As individuals we suffer because we create a psychological self-construct at a young age comprised of memories and mental stories, and we imbue that psychological self with the power of belief by identifying with it. There is nothing in the raw data of our immediate sensory experience which tells us that we’re a separate “me” character standing apart from the rest of the world who must secure its own interests against those of others, but because we identify with the psychological self-construct, we believe its stories telling us that this is the case.

The believed experience of being a tiny “me” character moving through linear time in an ever-changing world is one of constant fear, insecurity, lack, deficiency, and discontentment. It’s a completely false dilemma because we’ve never actually experienced separateness except in our own imaginations, but it feels real because we believe our mental stories about it.

We generate suffering in much the same way as a collective. We imagine ourselves to be separate from other humans, so we compete against them, and can even be convinced to fight wars against other groups of them. We imagine ourselves to be separate from nature, so we work to dominate and enslave it even when doing so destroys the biosphere we ourselves depend on for survival.

All our systems for driving human behavior at mass scale are built around the premise of competition. Competing against each other for jobs and wealth. Competing against rival businesses and corporations for money. Competing against other nations for planetary dominance. Competing against the non-human organisms of this planet for profit and security.

These systems of competition give rise to inequality, exploitation, poverty, injustice, oligarchy, violence, war, tyranny, and ecocide. And it’s all based on fictional stories with no real existence outside our own skulls.

Humanity has the ability to awaken from the dream of separation. Humans have been writing about this for thousands of years — that’s all Buddha was ever talking about. This potential has been sleeping within us this entire time, just waiting for the right moment to become activated.

The fact that enlightenment is a real thing that humans are very capable of attaining has massive implications for our species and the existential hurdles it faces at this point in history. It’s like a Chekhov’s gun that’s been sitting there since the opening scene of this play we’ve been acting out for millennia, and it is not unreasonable to suspect that the mounting pressures of our time may cause it to go off before the final curtain.

If humanity can unlock this latent potential, every single one of the problems we now face can be very easily resolved. As soon as we are no longer transfixed by hallucinations of separation, we’ll have the ability to move from a competition-driven species to a collaboration-driven one, because we’ll no longer be ruled by fear and insecurity. The propaganda which tells us to compete and hate and toil and hoard will no longer find any egoic purchase within us, and we can shrug off the old systems of control like a heavy coat on a warm day.

I see a great many reasons to have hope for the future, but one of the biggest is the fact that there’s this potential sitting right there within each of us just waiting to be unlocked. As our very survival on this planet is becoming increasingly threatened by the illusion of separation, we may find ourselves at the point where, to quote Anais Nin, “the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

________________

Caitlin’s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece here are some options where you can toss some money into my tip jar if you want to. Go here to find video versions of my articles. If you’d prefer to listen to audio of these articles, you can subscribe to them on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud or YouTube. Go hereto buy paperback editions of my writings from month to month. All my work is free to bootleg and use in any way, shape or form; republish it, translate it, use it on merchandise; whatever you want. The best way to make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. All works co-authored with my husband Tim Foley.

 

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Featured image via Adobe Stock.

FERAL AND FREE

FERAL AND FREE

Last night

an apparition

of fascism 

appeared

in my bedroom window

uninvited.

A cavernous

floating mouth

hovering in the sky

spewing forth

fire and brimstone.

A bilious barrage

of bitter words, 

pernicious proclamations,

and seductive lies

flying out

in all directions

from the gaping

skull cavity on high,

borne on the wings

of metallic

birds of prey,

robotic drones

dropping

toxic word bombs,

broadcasting

insidious invective,

arsenic-coated seedlings

helicoptering down,

taking root

in the sad soil

of despair,

a billowing breeze

lifting

the fig-leaf

of democracy

to reveal

a grinning corpse.

An airborne

propaganda exercise

complete with 

weapons of mass distraction,

bellicose braggadocio,

scented with

the musky lure

of million-dollar checks,

a litany 

of manipulative phrases

designed for

pulling the wool

over your own eyes.

Screaming, Yes!

Shouting, No!

Bellowing,

I am

the Waking Dream!

I am

the Apocalyptic Nightmare!

I am 

the Devil Incarnate!

I am

The Chosen One!

I am

the Great Redeemer!

Attention Fellow Patriots:

Your settled world

has exploded.

Stand by

locked and loaded.

Daddy’s home

to abort

bodily autonomy

to thwart

what’s queer.

Never fear,

I will protect you 

from harm’s way.

I can fix it

today,

if you only

will obey!

Listen up!

51 America First songs

flag-waving singalongs

from annexation ballads

to deportation blues

clothing

their taunting lyrics

in anthemic nostalgia 

for an America

that never was.

Something is rotten

in the hamlets

of the great

State of Hallmark

and the stench

is palpable

throughout the world.

Political talking heads

trumpeting

recycled

Orwellian refrains,

Freedom is Slavery!

War is Peace!

Ignorance is Strength!

A word salad

of plausible denial

raining down 

on farm

field

and town,

exposing

invisible wounds,

invoking suppressed

feelings of anger

deeply embedded

in the manufactured delusions

of American exceptionalism,

revealing

the smug pretense

of liberal bromides,

the crash and burn logistics

of colonial genocides.

 

Spare us all

another airbrushed erasure,

another pastoral scene,

placid cattle  

lazily grazing

in the meadow 

slowly sauntering 

back to the barn

at days end,

the gentle

sound of bells

tenderly tinkling

in the bucolic

glow of sunset.

Iconic 

contented cows

passively

locked up

upon arrival

for milking

or slaughter

the following day.

Flipping the script

on such sentimentalized

scenes of subservience,

I imagine

a viral outbreak 

of mad cow dis-ease,

a contagion of rebellion, 

dis-contented cattle

waking 

In the morning

to the rancid smell

of sour milk,

to the fear

of sudden death,

mistreated malcontents

mooing madly,

refusing 

to be cowed

by electricity

or stalled

by domesticity,

ripping out

industrial milking machines,

tearing down the barn,

trampling the fence,

running amok,

stampeding droves

without drovers

hoofing it

to the periphery,

foraging together,

beyond tether,

rewilding 

on the margins.

Vowing

never to be herded,

let us seek

a new emancipatory myth,

not mired

in fascist demagoguery

or party politricks,

not resorting

to the tired theatrics

of choosing

which turd

will lead the herd.

Some turds

might smell worse

than others,

yet we are

unwilling

to hold our noses

and vote,

passionately rejecting

citizenship by rote,

loudly denouncing

the humiliating hypocrisy

of outhouse democracy,

rejecting electoral “realities”,

affirming elective affinities,

heralding 

the surreal complicities

of an anarchic life

feral and free.

                              

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