What if we just stopped feeding the system
It's time to strengthen our communities, care for each other, and take back our power.
“The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house.”—Audre Lorde
We all know there is something very wrong. If we don’t do something soon it will get so much worse, but what do we do? There is no easy answer, and there is not one right path. I find the more I seek for solutions, the more hazy it all gets. I think it’s about continually working at the threads of the narrative, those little bits hanging out that all can see are not right. I think it’s about witnessing the atrocities, staring straight into our grief and rage, and gathering strength. I think it’s looking to other ways of knowing, learning from communities who have been practicing these values all along. I think it’s about building strong resilient communities of care.
Across the globe, millions of people are in the streets demanding an end to the genocide in Gaza. Moreover, they are demanding real change, they see that the system doesn’t work for them. They are angry that their futures are being destroyed in order to prop up a dying socio economic system. This week, amidst continued US bombing, 3 million Yemenis took to the streets of their capital Sanaa to support justice for the Palestinian people. In city after city, despite repression and police crackdowns, demonstrations are growing. The world is refusing to look away, refusing to fall for the Empire’s old and tired tricks. The narrative has been shattered.
Let’s be clear, we are against the odds here. The forces that would bring us all to ruin are strong, they are well funded, they control the armies, the governments, the banks, the media, and they are scared. This is a dangerous time, many thousands of people are paying with their lives. Countless others around the world suffer every day to keep this system alive. We have seen that our governments, and their corporate bosses, will stop at nothing to hold onto their authority.
But what now? Where do we go from here? I don’t pretend to know the answers to these questions. What I do know, is that together we can answer these questions. Together we are not hopeless or helpless. Together we are power. This I know in my heart, this I know, even in the depths of my despair. Together we are power. The answers we seek lie in finding ways to embody this knowledge. We must find ways to come together, to build community. We can care for each other, and provide for each other, we can begin to pull away from the teet of the Empire and find our power again.
We are Power
We have to re-establish our identity. We have to understand who we are and where we fit in the natural order of the world, because our oppressor deals in illusions.
They tell us that it is power, but it is not power. They may have all the guns, the racist laws and judges, and they may control all the money, but that is not power.
These are only imitations of power, and they are only power because in our minds we allow it to be power.—JohnTrudell
What if we just stopped buying any non essentials from the corporate world. Sure we will still need to buy food from the grocery store, and medicines, and building supplies, and clothing. It will take time to relearn how to provide these things for ourselves. But if we are honest with ourselves, there is a whole lot of useless consuming we could just stop. Instead of buying things that bring us joy, excitement, passion—instead of buying these feelings, we could find ways to get what we need from each other, or the world around us. Joy is free, excitement is free, passion is free.
What if we just started to really share with each other, would we all need to have everything? Do I need a lawnmower if my neighbour has one, do they need a paint sprayer if I have one? What if we started buying exclusively from local artisans? We could go in on bulk foods with each other, from local providers when possible, but even if it was straight from Cargill, there is still less profit for the big corporations. Less profit means less wealth accumulation at the top. I think the point I’m trying to make is that there are numerous ways we can take back the wealth that is being systematically stolen.
Of course we still need to be in the streets, and we need to escalate our political pressure. Collectively we can have tax revolts, general strikes, we can shut down our governments in numerous ways. Show up at our leaders doorsteps, offices and meetings. Do the same with the CEO’s of the major corporations. We can escalate our boycotts as well, we need to shut down corporate business as usual wherever we can. Disrupt the offices and stores of Big Business. At the same time we need to be propping up local business. Our neighbourhood providers are being squeezed, while CEO’s fill their pockets. We can change that, we have the power, but we have to take it. We can’t keep waiting for change, we can’t elect change, we have to change.
The good new is that the only thing for sure in this world is change and death. So if your not dead, you can change.
“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.”—Mahatma Gandhi
Until next time, stay curious, keep questioning, and don’t stop demanding change!
“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” — Arundhati Roy
I've been doing these very things for a long time, and it's fun! The mad scientist in me loves making my own shampoo and toothpaste, loves knowing exactly what's in them and not buying more plastic containers. I do bulk dried food orders with others, garden and lots of other things so as to give as little as possible back to the system
What we do with our money matters a lot.
We are the many, they are the few.