Greetings from the UK where we've been playing The Great Election Game. Except those of us who haven't - it's the first time in my adult life that I haven't voted. You could call it conscious electoral dissent, or something
"Everywhere I look, people are heartbroken, defeated, spiritually desolate, wandering aimlessly in the wasteland of dispelled illusions." May I offer a different take on this? I wish MORE people would get like this. I've come to the conclusion that dis-illusion - the getting free from illusions that limit and entrap you - is a necessary and productive step. And in the secular, literal-minded West, some of the old texts such as The Pilgrim's Progress have wisdom on this.
I appreciated your article on British politics Alex, thank you for sharing! Interesting that you also wrote about disillusionment in yours. Yes, I had heard about the dramatic lack of turnout in the UK election just recently. It's the first election I can remember hearing about in which the prevailing party achieved a landslide as a result of losing substantially fewer votes than everyone else, and yet also still losing votes!
I'm not sure if you made it to the end of my article in which I expressed solidarity with your sentiment in favor of disillusionment - how we need to be dispelled of our illusions in order to take action and live in accordance with what is really true. So yes, I'm with you on this!
Hi there, I know this is an old post but i hope it is okay if i still comment on it, as I was touched by it and resonated with it.
By the way, this is Amir speaking, if you remember from the early days of NAAS, years ago 🙂. We interacted a bit back then and i think that is why i subscribed to your substack a while back. I must say your writing is still as beautiful and heart-attuned as i remember from back then.
I came across this post sort of by chance (if there is such a thing) as i was going through my 'following' list..
Anyway, i won't write much right now, and definitely not with the care and depth and love that you or your writing deserve, as i don't really feel the expressive energy moving through me at the moment to be completely honest, but nonetheless something in me apparently feels compelled to just make a quick technical (and quite shallow) note, to let you know about a couple of things, which are related to the dilemmas and longings expressed in your post, in case you don't already know about them.
First is the most superficial and insignificant, but just to let you know, in case you don't already, that there is actually a presidential candidate who is fully aware and focused on all the things you pointed out in the post, who hasn't sold out and who isn't 0art of the billionaire's duopoly. Here: https://open.substack.com/pub/emanuelprez/p/why-the-workers-league-endorses-emanuel by mentioning this I am NOT saying that a presidemcy is a good thing, but just wanted to bring this small piece of information to your awareness, in case it might have some value for you
Next, and more importantly, i wanted to share with you two things thatt i think are very related to what was expressed in your post, both the practical aspect of what can be done, as well as the more psychological aspect of longing for a community/conscious tribe (which of course also goes hand in hand with the practical aspect)
First regarding what can actually be done about the breakdown you described so skillfully, about the dilemma of being caught in an all-encompassing anti-human abusive hierarchical system of domination, eternal war, subjugation and exploitation, that gives us only the option of choosing between one or the other of its two puppets, and having practically zero influence on the empire itself and its control over our lives - here's a suggestion (at least on the structural practical level, the psychological level will come in a moment), IMHO a very wise, practical and human-centered suggestion, that was already applied very successfully before (in half of Spain, when millions of people removed the ultra-wealthy hierarchical capitalist abusers from power and established a very productive and flourishing egalitarian self-rule without a government or ultra-rich rapists) with many links leading out from it for further, more detailed, exploration, if there's an interest https://www.pdrboston.org/egalitarianism
And by the way, this entire substack account is highly recommended as it explores many issues in our current reality from the above vision and perspective of what is actually possible for us and what we can actually do.
Now the second thing i wanted to share with you, which i think is also intimately related to what was expressed in your post I think, especially with regatd to community, see this quite profound call for conscious tribes
So that's it, that's what something in me felt compelled to share with you after reading your very touching post. I hope it is of some value to you..
I obviously also have a strong longing and interest in these things i shared here, and would like to make them happen, so if you'd like to discuss anything related to them then please feel free to do so (in any way you might prefer) 🌺
Hi Amir! Thank you for sharing these links - I had not heard of Pastreich before, he sounds like my kind of guy!
I do remember sharing a number of exchanges on NAAS, way back in 2020. I seem to recall having a disagreement about whether to hold on to the idea of Left, and declare that those who purport to be Left but support authoritarian/imperialist/technocratic aims are not actually Left - or whether to view the Left in terms of one side of the Left/Right coin, and see Left/Right as two perspectives on politics, neither of which are inherently supportive of the people nor inherently supportive of empire, but both of which can have poles which lean in either direction.
The question seems like much more of a minor point to me now than it did then, although I guess I still feel that characterizing things in terms of Left/Right tends to be utilized to suck people back into the duopoly paradigm. In the long run, I guess it's all just semantics.
Thank you for your long and thoughtful message. I'm honored that you have the energy to write to me personally while bereft of the energy or inclination to do much public engagement on this stuff. I'm so glad my article was touching to you! I'd love to build this grassroots world of equality too. I'm starting to recover from my disillusionment of the past few years based on my hopes that I was in the process of building community (and partaking in a wider movement) that was in the process of building it with me, only to find it all disintegrate into shreds as people plugged back into hierarchical narratives and approaches. We just need to dust ourselves off, tend to our wounds, and keep at it I guess! I especially miss what I had with the NAAS community in 2020-21. I just haven't figured out how to interact with it in the new format since it reorganized. It no longer seems to facilitate conversation the way it used to - or if it does, I just don't understand how to engage with it in order for it to do so.
I'm happy to hear from you after several years since we connected. Thank you!
Hi Raelle (is that still your name? 🙂 that’s what it was in the NAAS days. Or is it Relendra now?), i wil repond to your reply as soon as i can, but in the meantime i saw that you published another post, which i also wanted to respond too (though more in a technical manner, to be honest), so first i’ll do that, respinf to yoyr newest post, and then i will respond also here at the first chance i have (might ne a while later), okay?
Yes, I changed my first name to Relendra, and Raelle is now my middle name. Thank you for the time and detail you devoted to your response on my latest article! Happy to be connected again
Greetings from the UK where we've been playing The Great Election Game. Except those of us who haven't - it's the first time in my adult life that I haven't voted. You could call it conscious electoral dissent, or something
"Everywhere I look, people are heartbroken, defeated, spiritually desolate, wandering aimlessly in the wasteland of dispelled illusions." May I offer a different take on this? I wish MORE people would get like this. I've come to the conclusion that dis-illusion - the getting free from illusions that limit and entrap you - is a necessary and productive step. And in the secular, literal-minded West, some of the old texts such as The Pilgrim's Progress have wisdom on this.
https://www.mercatornet.com/only_dismal_choices_are_on_offer_in_britain_s_general_election
I appreciated your article on British politics Alex, thank you for sharing! Interesting that you also wrote about disillusionment in yours. Yes, I had heard about the dramatic lack of turnout in the UK election just recently. It's the first election I can remember hearing about in which the prevailing party achieved a landslide as a result of losing substantially fewer votes than everyone else, and yet also still losing votes!
I'm not sure if you made it to the end of my article in which I expressed solidarity with your sentiment in favor of disillusionment - how we need to be dispelled of our illusions in order to take action and live in accordance with what is really true. So yes, I'm with you on this!
Yes, I did although it was late here and I wasn't reading closely. Wanted to share on the common theme really.
Hi there, I know this is an old post but i hope it is okay if i still comment on it, as I was touched by it and resonated with it.
By the way, this is Amir speaking, if you remember from the early days of NAAS, years ago 🙂. We interacted a bit back then and i think that is why i subscribed to your substack a while back. I must say your writing is still as beautiful and heart-attuned as i remember from back then.
I came across this post sort of by chance (if there is such a thing) as i was going through my 'following' list..
Anyway, i won't write much right now, and definitely not with the care and depth and love that you or your writing deserve, as i don't really feel the expressive energy moving through me at the moment to be completely honest, but nonetheless something in me apparently feels compelled to just make a quick technical (and quite shallow) note, to let you know about a couple of things, which are related to the dilemmas and longings expressed in your post, in case you don't already know about them.
First is the most superficial and insignificant, but just to let you know, in case you don't already, that there is actually a presidential candidate who is fully aware and focused on all the things you pointed out in the post, who hasn't sold out and who isn't 0art of the billionaire's duopoly. Here: https://open.substack.com/pub/emanuelprez/p/why-the-workers-league-endorses-emanuel by mentioning this I am NOT saying that a presidemcy is a good thing, but just wanted to bring this small piece of information to your awareness, in case it might have some value for you
Next, and more importantly, i wanted to share with you two things thatt i think are very related to what was expressed in your post, both the practical aspect of what can be done, as well as the more psychological aspect of longing for a community/conscious tribe (which of course also goes hand in hand with the practical aspect)
First regarding what can actually be done about the breakdown you described so skillfully, about the dilemma of being caught in an all-encompassing anti-human abusive hierarchical system of domination, eternal war, subjugation and exploitation, that gives us only the option of choosing between one or the other of its two puppets, and having practically zero influence on the empire itself and its control over our lives - here's a suggestion (at least on the structural practical level, the psychological level will come in a moment), IMHO a very wise, practical and human-centered suggestion, that was already applied very successfully before (in half of Spain, when millions of people removed the ultra-wealthy hierarchical capitalist abusers from power and established a very productive and flourishing egalitarian self-rule without a government or ultra-rich rapists) with many links leading out from it for further, more detailed, exploration, if there's an interest https://www.pdrboston.org/egalitarianism
And here are detailed answers to FAQ to leatn a lot more about what is actually being suggested https://www.pdrboston.org/faq-how-to-have-no-rich-no-poor
Here you can seehow this was already applied very successfully before (in half of spain, as mentioned above) https://www.pdrboston.org/lessons-from-the-spanish-revolution
Here's a more detailed account of how it was applied https://www.pdrboston.org/lessons-from-the-spanish-revolution
As well as here https://open.substack.com/pub/johnspritzler/p/we-are-taught-lies-about-the-american
And by the way, this entire substack account is highly recommended as it explores many issues in our current reality from the above vision and perspective of what is actually possible for us and what we can actually do.
Now the second thing i wanted to share with you, which i think is also intimately related to what was expressed in your post I think, especially with regatd to community, see this quite profound call for conscious tribes
https://www.tribusconscientes.com/
And one of its recent essays here
https://www.tribusconscientes.com/post/bonding-and-becoming-a-tribe
So that's it, that's what something in me felt compelled to share with you after reading your very touching post. I hope it is of some value to you..
I obviously also have a strong longing and interest in these things i shared here, and would like to make them happen, so if you'd like to discuss anything related to them then please feel free to do so (in any way you might prefer) 🌺
Hi Amir! Thank you for sharing these links - I had not heard of Pastreich before, he sounds like my kind of guy!
I do remember sharing a number of exchanges on NAAS, way back in 2020. I seem to recall having a disagreement about whether to hold on to the idea of Left, and declare that those who purport to be Left but support authoritarian/imperialist/technocratic aims are not actually Left - or whether to view the Left in terms of one side of the Left/Right coin, and see Left/Right as two perspectives on politics, neither of which are inherently supportive of the people nor inherently supportive of empire, but both of which can have poles which lean in either direction.
The question seems like much more of a minor point to me now than it did then, although I guess I still feel that characterizing things in terms of Left/Right tends to be utilized to suck people back into the duopoly paradigm. In the long run, I guess it's all just semantics.
Thank you for your long and thoughtful message. I'm honored that you have the energy to write to me personally while bereft of the energy or inclination to do much public engagement on this stuff. I'm so glad my article was touching to you! I'd love to build this grassroots world of equality too. I'm starting to recover from my disillusionment of the past few years based on my hopes that I was in the process of building community (and partaking in a wider movement) that was in the process of building it with me, only to find it all disintegrate into shreds as people plugged back into hierarchical narratives and approaches. We just need to dust ourselves off, tend to our wounds, and keep at it I guess! I especially miss what I had with the NAAS community in 2020-21. I just haven't figured out how to interact with it in the new format since it reorganized. It no longer seems to facilitate conversation the way it used to - or if it does, I just don't understand how to engage with it in order for it to do so.
I'm happy to hear from you after several years since we connected. Thank you!
Hi Raelle (is that still your name? 🙂 that’s what it was in the NAAS days. Or is it Relendra now?), i wil repond to your reply as soon as i can, but in the meantime i saw that you published another post, which i also wanted to respond too (though more in a technical manner, to be honest), so first i’ll do that, respinf to yoyr newest post, and then i will respond also here at the first chance i have (might ne a while later), okay?
Yes, I changed my first name to Relendra, and Raelle is now my middle name. Thank you for the time and detail you devoted to your response on my latest article! Happy to be connected again