Thank you for your kind remarks, Colleen! I think I should write something about what has happened to the media. Other than lamenting its corruption, or getting angry about its lying, there really needs to be a balanced analysis of the sociocultural effects of media capture. Sharyl Attkison got a great start with this in her book Slanted, but I think there is so much more to this powerful cultural motif. I greatly appreciate your support.
Thank you for this thoughtful and balanced essay. The world would be a lot better place if our political leaders could engage in this type of dialogue 🙏
Such a thoughtful, balanced column! Oh, that our media would have that same clear in insight into the strengths and weakness of both groups. It would lead to much more even-handed reporting and commentary.
Thank you Camille for your thoughtful comment: It's a messy and confusing world we live in and I tried in my essay to explain this messiness as well as I could. I am happy you found much to relate to. This is why I write -- to see whether my message resonates with the universe. When it does, music happens.
Here are some musings I've written down. They need a bit of polish before I put it into an essay:
New and Better Systems that will gradually replace the old ones
Agriculture: we need a multitude of Independent, small farms, operating as PMA’s or PBO’s, based on regenerative and organic principles, to replace large scale industrial farming. People can buy these wherever they can get them, but they can be found in local independent groceries, farmer’s markets or directly from the farmer. People will come to do more home gardening. It will take decades to implement, but in the future, most and eventually nearly all food will be grown with low technology, using sustainable, regenerative and organic agriculture. Pesticides, herbicides and GMO’s will have been eliminated once their deleterious effect on health and on planetary health is widely appreciated.
Food: We need people to buy almost exclusively local, organically raised food from small manufacturers and farmers, and stop buying food made by large corporations such as Pepsico, Tyson, Nestle, Kraft Heinz, JBS USA, General Mills and Kelloggs. Some large companies will start investing in regenerative agriculture but most will largely fold or break up into smaller companies, as their business model is based on poison and unsustainable agricultural practices. People will stop buying their food and most will go bankrupt. Small farming will explode and most people will primarily buy locally and from regenerative organic farms, as well as growing some of their own food.
Finance: We will need to have local state banks that are under local control, and independent of the Federal Reserve system and other central banks such as BIS. We need a banking system that is not based on fractional reserve banking or exploitative high interest rates. The new monetary system will be based on gold and silver, and currencies will be fully backed. Banks will increasingly be replaced by financial institutions that renounce fractional reserve banking, once the Second Great Depression awakens people to the depravity of this type of system of banking that has for so many centuries transferred wealth from workers to bankers. They will refuse to put their money in these banks, and will choose financial organizations that renounce fractional reserve banking and make their money by honest means.
Economy: We need to have an independent market, based on barter and non-fiat currency, whether this be cryptocurrency, gold, silver, or other. Local economies should set up self-regulatory standards and monitoring systems independent of government. Eventually, the currency system will be almost entirely by barter and by local currencies, and the debt-based currency will become obsolete. People will trade in things that have real value.
Healthcare: We must have a system that is based on healing and health, not illness and capital accumulation by large corporations. We must expand the true health care system, make it more accessible financially, and utilize the conventional health care system less. Pharmacare will become less and less possible, as more and more people sign up for true healthcare, and abandon the antiquated and increasingly irrelevant pharmaceutical paradigm. This will be a slow transition, as it will require vast expansion of the health care force, retraining, and creation of new educational institutions. The illness care model will survive as long as it is backed by financial forces. What will grow relentlessly is a system based on ethics, Hippocratic principles, and healing rather than disease management. Different financial systems will evolve to make this new system competitive with the old dying allopathic system.
Education: We must have more independent schools that are not following guidelines set up by government or elitist groups. A new alternative education system will develop, spurred on by parents who refuse to tolerate second rate public education. It will be affordable even to the middle class, and more people will migrate into it from the public system, until the new system, which is built on creativity, fostering curiosity and open-mindedness, and spiritual development will become the driving energy of education. More funding will go to strengthen vocational education, as the wages for those with special skill sets become more and more competitive and society appreciates more the huge contribution skilled workers make to society.
Energy: We must have more nuclear energy and better public transportation system. We have to expand both systems by orders of magnitude. In the brighter future ahead, massive improvements on the public transportation system, by improved rail and bus service will make automobiles less needed. People will consume less energy and rely on alternative means of transportation more than cars. People may even make more use of horses, mules, and oxen to assist with their energy needs. Carbon based fuels will continue, but comprise a much smaller portion of energy resources than they did in the past.
Political system: We must find a way to weaken central authority and strengthen local control. The military, intelligence service and regulatory authorities must all be weakened. Creating local independent self-sustaining communities will opt out of the political system. They must be made legally immune from the intrusion of centralized authority, or that authority may need to be removed. We may need a second American Revolution to beat back the wealthy and powerful who want to subjugate us, but whether it is a more violent or peaceful transition, the net result will be weaker central governments, both on Federal and State levels, and more power in the hands of local communities, whether on a neighborhood, town, or county level. The new political system will require more participation from citizens.
Media/propaganda: We must have a lively vibrant alternative media and stop subscribing to corporate media. Corporate media will one day be largely replaced by alternative media. Some large media corporations will close, due to low subscription rates. Fewer and fewer people, outside of the most gullible will continue to put any trust in it, and will get their news from other online sources.
Thank you for your kind remarks, Colleen! I think I should write something about what has happened to the media. Other than lamenting its corruption, or getting angry about its lying, there really needs to be a balanced analysis of the sociocultural effects of media capture. Sharyl Attkison got a great start with this in her book Slanted, but I think there is so much more to this powerful cultural motif. I greatly appreciate your support.
Resonates well with me, someone perhaps so conservative
I am liberal.
Thank you for this thoughtful and balanced essay. The world would be a lot better place if our political leaders could engage in this type of dialogue 🙏
Thanks, Trish. The art of balanced reporting is dying in mainstream journalism. It is left for us amateurs to keep it alive.
Such a thoughtful, balanced column! Oh, that our media would have that same clear in insight into the strengths and weakness of both groups. It would lead to much more even-handed reporting and commentary.
Thank you Camille for your thoughtful comment: It's a messy and confusing world we live in and I tried in my essay to explain this messiness as well as I could. I am happy you found much to relate to. This is why I write -- to see whether my message resonates with the universe. When it does, music happens.
Here are some musings I've written down. They need a bit of polish before I put it into an essay:
New and Better Systems that will gradually replace the old ones
Agriculture: we need a multitude of Independent, small farms, operating as PMA’s or PBO’s, based on regenerative and organic principles, to replace large scale industrial farming. People can buy these wherever they can get them, but they can be found in local independent groceries, farmer’s markets or directly from the farmer. People will come to do more home gardening. It will take decades to implement, but in the future, most and eventually nearly all food will be grown with low technology, using sustainable, regenerative and organic agriculture. Pesticides, herbicides and GMO’s will have been eliminated once their deleterious effect on health and on planetary health is widely appreciated.
Food: We need people to buy almost exclusively local, organically raised food from small manufacturers and farmers, and stop buying food made by large corporations such as Pepsico, Tyson, Nestle, Kraft Heinz, JBS USA, General Mills and Kelloggs. Some large companies will start investing in regenerative agriculture but most will largely fold or break up into smaller companies, as their business model is based on poison and unsustainable agricultural practices. People will stop buying their food and most will go bankrupt. Small farming will explode and most people will primarily buy locally and from regenerative organic farms, as well as growing some of their own food.
Finance: We will need to have local state banks that are under local control, and independent of the Federal Reserve system and other central banks such as BIS. We need a banking system that is not based on fractional reserve banking or exploitative high interest rates. The new monetary system will be based on gold and silver, and currencies will be fully backed. Banks will increasingly be replaced by financial institutions that renounce fractional reserve banking, once the Second Great Depression awakens people to the depravity of this type of system of banking that has for so many centuries transferred wealth from workers to bankers. They will refuse to put their money in these banks, and will choose financial organizations that renounce fractional reserve banking and make their money by honest means.
Economy: We need to have an independent market, based on barter and non-fiat currency, whether this be cryptocurrency, gold, silver, or other. Local economies should set up self-regulatory standards and monitoring systems independent of government. Eventually, the currency system will be almost entirely by barter and by local currencies, and the debt-based currency will become obsolete. People will trade in things that have real value.
Healthcare: We must have a system that is based on healing and health, not illness and capital accumulation by large corporations. We must expand the true health care system, make it more accessible financially, and utilize the conventional health care system less. Pharmacare will become less and less possible, as more and more people sign up for true healthcare, and abandon the antiquated and increasingly irrelevant pharmaceutical paradigm. This will be a slow transition, as it will require vast expansion of the health care force, retraining, and creation of new educational institutions. The illness care model will survive as long as it is backed by financial forces. What will grow relentlessly is a system based on ethics, Hippocratic principles, and healing rather than disease management. Different financial systems will evolve to make this new system competitive with the old dying allopathic system.
Education: We must have more independent schools that are not following guidelines set up by government or elitist groups. A new alternative education system will develop, spurred on by parents who refuse to tolerate second rate public education. It will be affordable even to the middle class, and more people will migrate into it from the public system, until the new system, which is built on creativity, fostering curiosity and open-mindedness, and spiritual development will become the driving energy of education. More funding will go to strengthen vocational education, as the wages for those with special skill sets become more and more competitive and society appreciates more the huge contribution skilled workers make to society.
Energy: We must have more nuclear energy and better public transportation system. We have to expand both systems by orders of magnitude. In the brighter future ahead, massive improvements on the public transportation system, by improved rail and bus service will make automobiles less needed. People will consume less energy and rely on alternative means of transportation more than cars. People may even make more use of horses, mules, and oxen to assist with their energy needs. Carbon based fuels will continue, but comprise a much smaller portion of energy resources than they did in the past.
Political system: We must find a way to weaken central authority and strengthen local control. The military, intelligence service and regulatory authorities must all be weakened. Creating local independent self-sustaining communities will opt out of the political system. They must be made legally immune from the intrusion of centralized authority, or that authority may need to be removed. We may need a second American Revolution to beat back the wealthy and powerful who want to subjugate us, but whether it is a more violent or peaceful transition, the net result will be weaker central governments, both on Federal and State levels, and more power in the hands of local communities, whether on a neighborhood, town, or county level. The new political system will require more participation from citizens.
Media/propaganda: We must have a lively vibrant alternative media and stop subscribing to corporate media. Corporate media will one day be largely replaced by alternative media. Some large media corporations will close, due to low subscription rates. Fewer and fewer people, outside of the most gullible will continue to put any trust in it, and will get their news from other online sources.