What we do now matters
The Empire is losing control of the narrative. Find a crack and apply pressure, anywhere and everywhere. (Originally posted Nov 8, 2023)
*** I wrote this on November 8, 2023. So much has happened since then, but these words feel as true for me today as they did then. ***
The Empire is losing control of the narrative, it’s holds on the hearts and minds of the population is weak. Now, more than ever before, it is important to put pressure on the cracks, with enough pushing we can knock this whole system down. The propaganda machine has been working over time to try and dispel the mounting cognitive dissonance we are all being asked to hold. Here’s the thing, it may just be to much, the images we are seeing do not line up with the narrative, not at all.
This comes at a great cost to people on the ground in Gaza, Sudan, the Congo, Tygray, and the list goes on. Families are forced to make public their worst moments, and deepest griefs in order to make us see. It should not have to be that way, and it says alot about how far we have fallen. There will need to be a reckoning with this, if we are to heal, yet there is hope in this knowledge. Healing is powerful, healing brings change, healing builds community. In community we are powerful. In our power we hold the world. What we do now matters!
“People know which side our government has chosen in this conflict, and the expressions of care for civilians in Gaza ring hollow when Israel continues to disregard them and we continue to send Israel arms and money. And people should be upset. We should be furious.
Hundreds of thousands or even millions of us across the country have cumulatively taken to the streets. Thousands and thousands of phone calls and emails have flooded Congressional offices. And the polling cited here is clear. We want our government to push for a ceasefire, and they refuse.
Among the countless problems exposed in this moment, the utter disconnection from elected officials on Israel-Palestine ranks high among them. Millions of people are realizing in yet another way that the politicians we elected to represent us can and do refuse to listen to our desires and demands. But this time it’s even more visceral than usual. It’s tied directly to bombs falling on children.
The House of Representatives just voted to send $14 billion more to Israel, billions more to fund ethnic cleansing and missiles targeting everything from UN schools to water supplies to bakeries. And they want to take that $14 billion from the IRS, where it was going to be used to force the super-rich to pay taxes. Can’t make this stuff up.”
*** It must be noted that, since this was written, so many more billions have been sent to Israel. The most recent figure being 20 billion in August of 2024. ***
Meanwhile here in so called Canada, the story is similar. The public do not want to be supporting everything from genocide in Palestine, to child labour in the global mining industry. Yet we are, and in no small ways. Canada exported over $20 million in arms to Israel in 2022. Canadian mining companies, according the UN, are responsible for a “widespread geographical distribution of documented violence”. As more and more of this comes to light, folks are asking the hard questions. Youth in this country know that our governments are doing nothing to combat climate change, and they are angry. Canada has some of the cleanest water in the world, yet Indigenous communities across the country have no clean drinking water. Families can barely afford food these days, yet the grocery industry is recording record profits. People are angry, and they see the narratives for what they are, lies.
This story is playing out across the globe, Millions of people are in the streets demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. But not only that, they are demanding real change, the people see that the system does not work for them. Across the globe, people are angry at being deceived. They are angry that their futures are being destroyed in order to prop up a dying socio economic system. From Istanbul, to Jakarta, to New York, the people are united, they are active, and they want change. What we do now matters. How we collectively respond now will change the world. Maybe for the better, maybe not, but the world will not be the same, of that we can be sure.
The question is, will we begin to turn this ship we call “Global Capitalism” around, or will we sink deeper into the depravity that is at the core of this system? The outcome hangs in the balance, what we do now matters. If we hold onto this momentum, if we continue to pull at all the threads of injustice, if we don’t look away. Well, I think we might just have a chance, but it’s a large ship to turn and there are counter forces at play here as well.
Naomi Klein in this 2017 article in the long read writes,
“There have been times in my reporting from disaster zones when I have had the unsettling feeling that I was seeing not just a crisis in the here and now, but getting a glimpse of the future – a preview of where the road we are all on is headed, unless we somehow grab the wheel and swerve.
One of those moments arrived in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, as I watched hordes of private military contractors descend on the flooded city to find ways to profit from the disaster, even as thousands of the city’s residents, abandoned by their government, were treated like dangerous criminals just for trying to survive.
I started to notice the same tactics in disaster zones around the world. I used the term “shock doctrine” to describe the brutal tactic of using the public’s disorientation following a collective shock – wars, coups, terrorist attacks, market crashes or natural disasters – to push through radical pro-corporate measures, often called “shock therapy”.
This strategy has been a silent partner to the imposition of neoliberalism for more than 40 years. Shock tactics follow a clear pattern: wait for a crisis (or even, in some instances, as in Chile or Russia, help foment one), declare a moment of what is sometimes called “extraordinary politics”, suspend some or all democratic norms – and then ram the corporate wishlist through as quickly as possible.”
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. In this past month we have seen France and Germany make it illegal to gather calling for an end to genocidal bombing. We have seen many, many folks hauled off to jail, for calling an end to the bombing of babies. We have seen Israel propose a law allowing police and armed forces to use live rounds on protesters inside Israel, for you guessed it, calling for an end to Apartheid. And of course we have witnessed the non stop bombing of a civilian population for 4 weeks straight.
*** It’s now been a year, and there is seemingly no end in sight. ***
It’s not only the large threats to our ability to dissent that are currently being deployed. Widespread attempts to suppress pro-Palestinian views in the west have forced the cancellation of major conferences, prompted demands for the dismissal of workers who express support for Palestinians, and led to intimidation campaigns against Arab voices critical of Israeli policies. I personally know people whose jobs have been threatened, and follow others who have had death threats. This kind of tactic is effective, people are scared to speak out if it means losing their employment, or their lives. It may seem surprising how far the ruling class will go, but only if you are holding onto the lie that we live in democracies. Once you give up that narrative, and accept that we live in a global totalitarian order. Well, then the actions of our governments, and the corporations who control them, make perfect sense.
You see they have no real power, only authority and propaganda. It is only because we believe the narratives that they can hold onto their authority. So they are desperate to keep a hold on the story, they are terrified that people will wake up from this nightmare and rise up against them.
“We must not become confused. We must not become confused and deceived by their illusions. There is no such thing as military power. There is only military terrorism. There is no such thing as economic power. There is only the economic within these illusions, so we will believe they hold power in their hands. But they do not. All they know how to do is act in a repressive, brutal way.
Power. We are a natural part of the earth. We are an extension of the earth; we are not separate from it. We are part of it. The earth is our mother. The earth is a spirit, and we are an extension of that spirit. We are spirit. We are power.
from We Are Power by John Trudell (July 18, 1980, Survival Gathering, Paha Sapa (Black Hills)
What we do matters, sure we all get that, but what do we do. How do we fight this behemoth. 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 gathering strength from it. 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.
Those of us here, in this time, we will be at this for the rest of our lives. I know I may not live to see the day when I no longer have to pray for an end to genocide. My Dear Mother always told me, “we don’t fight because we are sure to win, we fight because if we don’t, our children and grandchildren will pay the price”. She we would say “we may not be able to stop the atrocities, but if we don’t stand up against injustice, then what have we become”. These words have been my guide posts, I have tried to follow their simple wisdom as I make my way through these dark times. It might not be the hero’s journey, but it is a noble quest.
"Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief.
Do justly now, love mercy now, walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.”
Talmudic Wisdom
It’s important to come out to rallies and large shows of support, yet the real change comes from sustained pressure on the cracks that are created by these big moments. So, find a thread to unravel and pull. Be creative, it’s not so important what you do, but that you do. Change will come from us talking to each other, change will come from us imagining together. Change is coming, and what we do now matters.
Until next time, stay curious, keep questioning, and don’t stop demanding change!
Thanks for reading Party In The Dirt! Subscribe for free to receive new posts in your inbox. If you feel called to be a monthly donor, or buy me a coffee, I will graciously accept.
***Due to ongoing genocide, all contributions to Party In The Dirt will be going to families in Gaza.***
“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” — Arundhati Roy
Great, empowering post, Jesse.
Thanks for the reminder that what we do matters.
Wow, Jesse, your mother would be so proud. Khya told me your back is out again—please take care.