Tuesday, November 30, 2010 manifesto.

I'd like to think we've all wondered about it. The more people I meet, the more I listen, the more this hope is affirmed. The more I find other people who have reached the stark, blazing realization that we are all the same, and all in this together. That we should take a step back from the path ahead, and in doing so, understand that regardless of the path we have chosen, or has been chosen for us, we are running within the confines of a very specific maze. A maze we've allowed to be built up around us in exchange for what we imagine to be conveniences. Even the maze itself, with its intricacies and engineering, winding and weaving as it does, is quite a marvel. However, we cannot remain ignorant to the fact that our society, our government, and our impact on the world around us is nothing more or less than that maze. We must see it for what it is, was, and will become in so far as we can determine our exponential trajectory.
 
And we must choose.

We have been taught to believe that what we were born into is not only birthright, but also, the best possible world and general momentum that could have been provided. While I have a deep respect for those who have come before myself, and for the true sacrifices which carved back at ever closing walls, I simply cannot accept this as absolute fact, without question.

There are obvious and glaring problems with the relationships between the earth and humanity, and among humans themselves. We have been fighting what is essentially a World War that has run longer than the war in Vietnam, with no signs of slowing. Our economy is in shambles, and our markets have to date failed to even acknowledge what continues to occur. We are constantly pushed further and further along ever narrowing passages, as more is promised to and denied us, as more and more is demanded of us, to supply to an elite class which has become disturbingly singular in mindset and disgustingly disproportionate in population and means. We are kept in constant fear: fear of the loss of what little creature comforts we are allowed, fear of those above us in the pecking order, fear of inability to provide for ourselves and our families even those barest necessities for life such as adequate shelter, food, and fresh water, and, above all else, fear of each other. We simply cannot and don't have to sustain such duress.

I am no longer thinking in terms of class. The notion of class in America seems to have made an absurdity of itself. In 2008, 1 in every 200 Americans used an emergency shelter system, having no where else to turn. One in seven Americans live under what is understood as the poverty line. This continues to worsen as the richest 2% of the population continue to reap the benefits and horde resources. The only thing allowing this to continue is our choice. 

What you won't find here is an answer to the big question at the root of it all, if that's what you're looking for. You won't find a walk through, or an ideology; You won't find a fail-proof plan, and you might not even find something interesting to read.

What I hope you do find is an understanding. The realization that we are always in control of ourselves, and our own lives. We are always capable of banding together for mutual aid, of community building, of understanding each other, and providing for each and everyone. We have only to chew through to walls of the maze to live as we please in the field.

The choice is one of priority, and participation. The priority is utmost: that of life itself. Continued existence as a species is on the line. For tens of thousands of years, humans lived within the laws of balance and sustainability, without even so much as a vague inkling that another way was possible. Now, five thousand years or less down the path we've traveled together, we are finding sign that the forest around us is kindling for our funeral pyre. We can, however, reclaim our lives, our decisions, and our planet.

What will follow is my attempt at just that, my invitation for you and anyone else to join me and learn from my mistakes and success, and as many sources and resources for the information behind it all as I can find and drag back for you.

If you've ever felt like the train's conductor is already dead, if you've ever thought there has got to be more to life, and more living to be done, this is for you. If you've ever thought that job was killing you, and still wondering how you are going to provide, this is for you. If you've ever gotten fed up with the actions preformed in your name without your express permission, this is for you. If you've ever risked your momentum, your course, and your conviction, sat back on your hind, placed your nose to the air, wiggled your whiskers and wondered.
This is for you.