Resistance Is Not Futile

Seeking Sentient Solutions

Since the general election last month, many of our lives have become blatant examples of what an Aussie friend of mine might call "The Turgid Miasma of Existence."  I know mine resembles a trailer park after hot sex with an F-5 tornado.  Of course, it still beats the frozen dog sh*t out of living in Yemen or Syria right now.

Discovering that over 60 million of our fellow citizens are 'missing part of their kindness chip' has jolted just as many of us into a surreal, liminal psychological state.  It reminds me of being stunned as a young boy when 'that one kid' started torturing a cat.  Oh yeah, I knew that kid...still do.  After a lifetime of drugs, jail, and violence, he has finally gotten sober and settled down with a nice woman.  These days, he does a lot of bass fishing, and talks constantly about Jesus, and his narcotics recovery.  He's a Trump voter.

I've been thinking a lot lately about people's stories....my story, your story, his story, her story, their story, our story, a story, the story.  An anthropologist, archaeologist, and fellow human, I am always, first and foremost, a collector of tales.  Some of my buddy-from-Brisbane's words on the subject of stories, and their power, have been floating through the warm, breezy, quiet place of my mind for the last few days...

"...Shamans, and others selected and trained specifically to venture to realms of the spectrum of reality which lie beyond the ken of our five-fold interpretation of that spectrum, all agree in their own way that story and symbol are the tools par excellence for leading a suitably primed candidate towards choosing to have direct experience of the Organic Light [...] I sometimes think that like ego, belief is best used as a tool, for short term use of specific purpose. Gather the experiences as data; put the tools away, with the pocket calculator. Consult and allow the sub conscious to do its thing processing your experiences. Try to learn the language, in which it whispers its secrets and listen and attempt to reconcile the accounts that it brings through symbol and story, both internal and external, and integrate them back to a new state of wholeness and grace...."

Synthesize these statements with the rebellious and relevant call of Raj Sisodia at Amid Night Suns:

"...The centers of our stories are being brutally disemboweled.  Our chymic weddings are being obliterated, or else sleight-of-handed from our immediate use.  Hollow Form is replacing Fantastic Function.  We are being tempted into a never-ending spiral of the most rampant apathy and mercenary mindsets.  It is put upon the visionaries and artists and seekers to rebel against this internecine hegemony..."

Let's finish the thought process with a bit from the master sorcerer of words Alan Moore:

"In latter times I think that artists and writers have allowed themselves to be sold down the river.  They have accepted the prevailing belief that art and writing are merely forms of entertainment.  They’re not seen as transformative forces that can change a human being; that can change a society.  They are seen as simple entertainment; things with which we can fill 20 minutes, half an hour, while we’re waiting to die.  It’s not the job of the artist to give the audience what the audience wants.  If the audience knew what they needed, then they wouldn’t be the audience.  They would be the artists.  It is the job of artists to give the audience what they need." 

I've been asking myself and all of you, "What are you prepared to do?"  For a long time now, I've been satisfied by "doing what I can."  But...have I really...done what I could??...I suppose not. I do what I do...which is more than many around me do...and that's been my personal pacifier for a couple years now.  But lately, it's just not enough to ease the restlessness growing daily inside me...the flavor is gone.  I know too much...I'm too old to lie to myself...and it's all gone way too damn far.  I find that I've lost something precious...something that I bled so hard to earn...my peace of mind.  Frankly that saddens me deeply; it also pisses me off!!

We can all see what's happening right in front of us.  Traditional morality, indeed the very concept of altruism, is being replaced by a cruel, heartless, Ayn Randian wet dream of bastardized, American, capitalistic, corporate, fascist Christianity.  Arguing over the hows, whys, and wherefores, while eventually necessary and important may just need to wait.

Now, more than ever, it is incumbent upon artists, writers, and visionaries to heed this call:  We  must reclaim our place as society's conscience, and as shamanic agents of social transformation.  You don't need anyone's permission, and you don't have time to worry about what people may think; the starting pistol has already gone off and the race has begun.  It's time to throw caution to the wind.  If not now, when?  If not us, who?  I don't care if you're showing at the local gallery, or tagging train cars with graffiti, it's time to get crazy:  They say the pen is mightier than the sword...let's find out.

At minimum, we all have a "sphere of influence;" people that we habitually come in contact with during our daily walk.  Consciously strive to be a positive influence for love, equality, freedom, creativity, passion, compassion, growth, education, happiness, and tolerance within your sphere of influence, and consistently prioritize these things over financial gain to the point of habituation, while encouraging others to do the same.  It's that simple, and it's often quite difficult...for me.  We all have a sphere of influence, and it's easy to see it, once we tear ourselves away from the mirror.

Like many of you, as a child I was raised to believe that the ultimate authority was in charge...I was taught to love my country, respect it's laws and leaders, and even once took an oath to "uphold and defend the constitution..."  I learned all about things like the 'chain of command,' taking orders, and military justice.  I was indoctrinated at home, school, work, and play to trust and believe in authority...and most of all, I was taught not to worry about these things, because this was God's purview.  Restated:  Authority was in charge of us, and God was in charge of and guiding Authority.  So, people in authority were placed on a special pedestal, and were to be respected...and obeyed.  But they aren't special...they are human and often monstrously so.  Thus, again like many of you, I was primed for a lifetime of power abuse from elected officials, teachers, preachers, employers, supervisors, and elders.   I was taught early on to "bend over and take it." It's time to break this programming if you haven't; it doesn't matter who you are.

Yes, writers, visionaries, and artists must write, teach, and create...and do more.  The establishment 'Left' and electoral government have both been nakedly revealed to be essentially useless at best, either unable or unwilling to prevent the systematic abuse and suppression of its population.  There's no way to sugarcoat this:  If we want real change in our lifetimes, we are going to have to fight for it.  Mass executions, rapes, and genocide have become after-dinner, sound-bite entertainment for the apathetic masses.  It's time to take the wheel, and find a way off this crazy causeway!!  Time to look deep inside and decide...what are you prepared to do?  Whatever you decide, know that you are not alone.

Thomas Paine (pictured above) was a fascinating man.  His words and deeds fanned the flames of the American Revolution.  Once the battle was won, Paine was deemed by many a bit too radical to live in the society that he worked so hard to help bring about.  I have a real good feeling that he didn't mind too much.  See, Thomas Paine said something else that I'm a big believer in: "It is the duty of the Patriot to protect his country from its government."  See you on the streets.

RM