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Category: Politics
I recently wrote a post about creating a manifesto for change. See here.
When ever I get disillusioned by the world and I feel my idealism slipping I remind myself of the words of Ghandi.
"Be the change you want to see in the world."
I remember that it's hypocritical for me to bemoan the state of the world when I am a reflection and a cause of it.
So, I thought I'd go through the points in my suggested manifesto and try and work out a way I could "Be the change".
Remove the rights of the banks to create money
The only thing I can think of here is to try to remain debt free. Every debt that I take out allows a bank to create money out of nothing. If we all remained debt free then whole banking system would fail.
Investment in renewable energy and sustainable farming
I can do this by making sure that I buy products from sustainable farms and trying my best to source my energy from providers that invest in renewable energy. I can also limit my use of dirty fuels in general.
End to artificial scarcity - sharing legal - no such thing as intellectual property - rewarded through charity
This doesn't just mean that I should download anything I want. It means that I should make sure I reward creators for anything that I use for free. I already do this. If I was to download an album and enjoy it enough to listen to it regulary then I will always find the a way of giving the band some money in the most direct way possible. There is a flip side to this one. It also means that if I was ever to create something that could be shared for free then I should share it for free. I have no problem with that. If it's good enough I will get some reward.
A switch from an economics predicated on our inate greed and self-interest to one where charity and cooperation is assumed. It's a self fulfilling prophecy.
Perhaps this is just a matter of mind set. I always do try and assume the best in people and to give my trust willingly. I must also give more money to charity.
Predominantly non-interventionist foreign policy - conquer others through aid - be so helpful to others that people will emulate us rather than seek to destroy us - residual army for defensive purposes only.
I guess this would translate into living life in a non-aggressive non-manipulative way. Something I try to do already.
A hierarchy of currencies from local towns to national
I should get involved in any local currencies near me.
Work less community/family more
As soon as I get into a position where I can afford to work less then I will. This one more than the others would be a lot easier if everybody took the same attitude. I really want to look into the economic effects of everybody working a 4 day week.
Massive disincentives for large families / incentives for fostering or not having children - encouragement of education for women around the world
The most obvious one here is to not have a large family myself. I think that having two children is acceptable since if everybody did so then the population would fall. There is also a british thinktank that is devoted to this cause which David Attenborough is a patron of called The Optimum Population Trust. I will sign up with them and become a patron.
Reestablishment of civil liberties
I should donate to Amnesty International. I should also join any protests of this theme that I can.
Decriminalisation of psychoactives
Less said on this one the better.. but lets just say I've fought the fight
Mass-deprogramming
I question everything and continually educate myself on systems of propoganda and control. I also study comparitive mythology and depth psychology in an effort to know myself and my myths.
Absolute transparency of government- and increased interaction with the populace through technology
I should make more of an effort to use the existing ways to interact with my government on the internet.
Well that should give me enough to be getting on with for now.
Send this as an email to everybody you know!
Read, make your changes (if you feel you need to), and forward on!
The established power structures lack the incentives to respond quickly enough to deal with the challenges that face our world. They would rather exploit the coming changes and tighten their grip of control. The existing political parties are too entwined with the status quo to make the necessary progressive reforms. We are left with no real alternatives at the polling station. Our civil liberties are disappearing at an alarming rate. Unless we pull together now we may not have another opportunity. Fortunately, at the moment, we are not powerless. We are prisoners of disorganisation rather than circumstance. Internet campaigns are free and guerrilla marketing is extremely effective. The parasitic elite are laughing at our inability to use the pile of weapons in front of us while they quietly steal them away.
Below is a few suggestions for a radical progressive manifesto. Feel free to change it in any way before you forward it on. Every time you forward this email on please include this email address - theopenmanifesto@gmail.com. The password for this account is Takethepowerback. By doing this you will ensure that your suggestions for the manifesto will be recorded before they are changed by somebody else and everybody who gets this email will have access to it. Once we have everybody's suggestions we can collate them and produce a detailed poll to establish what will and won't be included. Then the real fun will begin..
We can not afford to be conservative and we do not have time to wait. If you agree with the sentiment of this email then please forward this on.
These are some suggestions for points to consider for the manifesto (feel free to change/add to them before emailing on)
Removing the right for banks to create money from thin air - the government will be given this right.
Enormous investment in renewable energy and sustainable farming - getting ahead of the curve
End to artificial scarcity - sharing legal - no such thing as intellectual property - rewarded through charity and future government investment.
A switch from an economics predicated on our inate greed and self-interest to one where charity and cooperation is assumed. It's a self fulfilling prophecy.
Predominantly non-interventionist foreign policy - conquer others through aid - be so helpful to others that people will emulate us rather than seek to destroy us - residual army for defensive purposes only
Referendum must be called before any aggressive move
A hierarchy of currencies from local towns to national
Work less community/family more
4 day week - with the 5th day being a designated community day (work would be done but for free and for the benefit of the community)
Massive disincentives for large families / incentives for fostering or not having children - encouragement of education for women around the world
Reestablishment of civil liberties
Decriminalisation of psychoactives
Mass-deprogramming
This would be achieved by teaching propaganda techniques, comparative mythology, depth psychology, alternative economics to children at school
Absolute transparency of government- and increased interaction with the populace through technology - perhaps even to the point where the whole government is open source and there are no full time politicians
Discouragement of corruption and encouragement of the selfless to enter politics -
Every politician should be paid at the average wage of their constituency.
They must give up all ownership of any income generating organisations or assets.
They will never be allowed to own more than the average wealth of their constituents.
PLEASE FORWARD ON TO ANYBODY ELSE YOU KNOW THAT FEELS DISENFRANCHISED
''till at last the child's mind is these suggestions, and the sum of the suggestions is the child's mind. And not the child's mind only. The adult's mind too all his life long. The mind that judges and desires and decides made up of these suggestions. But all these suggestions are our suggestions!"
- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
The opinions and behaviors of people and societies are easily swayed. Every decade, every year, every week, those who control mass media change the climates of human thought. New pop stars, fashions, and fads are paraded center stage and then exit stage left followed by floods of expendable cash, leaving the path of sordid garbage known as "popular culture" in its wake.
Now the power to rule the world and wag the cultural dog is at your fingertips. What follows are simple instructions, a manual, a playbook of sorts, some simple behavioral tools to influence and take advantage of the nervous systems of all your peers.
The 23 Tools:
1. The key to truly effective brainwashing is to work at people's most fundamental awareness. Shape them at the neurological level so they develop the faculties to take your input and call it "thinking for myself." Enable them to stop thinking.
2. Limit any and all faculties for self-awareness and self-sensing. Destroy instinct and intuition. Actively and endlessly encourage external awareness. Make people dependent on your external input for as many decisions as possible.
3. Speed up messages so that the pace and rhythm of information is disorienting and visually biased.
4. Condition people to being bombarded with hundreds of thousands of signals a day. Teach them to attend to this stream of information and to call it Reality. Never let them ask what "reality" is.
5. Framing is everything. Decide what you want people to believe and make sure that any choices you give them are within a framework which assures you of your result. This is called the Illusion of Choice. "Do you want to sweep the floor before or after dinner?" Repeat this formula for economic systems, politicians, news stories, competing product brands and entertainment.
6. Appeal to the lowest common denominator. Make sure that all shows model conflict resolution of people with an emotional and intellectual maturity no greater than that of a six year old. Make it funny so no one notices.
7. Keep people passive. Encourage the Couch Potato Alpha Wave Escape Plan as the healing elixir for all that ails.
8. Don't make people think. Their days are hard enough as is. Bypass the need for opinion making by giving people ready-made opinions. Do it as though you don't have a conscience – they are probably too stupid to make their own decisions anyway.
9. Ensure that there are no ongoing storylines with meaning or purpose beyond immediate sensory stimulation. Avoid universal themes as much as possible. Make absolutely certain there is no cultural, societal or global story or mythology present that conflicts with the myths of comfort and consumption.
10. Never encourage responsibility, or so much as suggest that humans could be involved in co-creating their future and the realities in which they reside.
11. Encourage group-sanctioned individuality only. By making 'individuality" the new conformity you are generating a powerful illusion of free choice.
12. Sensationalize the superficial.
13. Keep information bytes infinitesimally small. Promote Attention Deficit Disorder. Several decades of television have already set this in motion.
14. Repetition is key. Repeat important messages as often as possible.
15. Repetition is key.
16. Repetition is key.
17. Bypass rationality by any means possible. People don't need logic to accept information. Belief is emotional. Always remember: WAR=PEACE.
18. Remember –- two half-truths make up a whole truth.
19. Demonize self-knowledge technology of all kinds. Throw around words like "cult" and "brainwashing." Marginalize anyone involved in such pursuits.
20. Keep old models of consciousness alive and well. If you can get away with referring to people's states as being phlegmatic or sanguine instead of programmable and intentional, do it.
21. Keep people's attention on what really matters. Emphasize what's wrong as much as possible.
22. Always give the impression that Everything Is Under Control – but just barely so – hammer into the populace the idea that their greatest fear could strike at any moment.
23. Teach people that they are their thoughts and emotions. Reinforce this by teaching them to feel bad about their ideas, and to feel bad about feeling bad. Remember: Identify, identify, identify –- this will widen the empty void inside of them that only shopping can cure.
By sticking to these simple premises you should be able to produce entire societies capable of ending world hunger, but too selfish to care. You will be able to bring about massive consumer mindsets and buying habits so powerful that logic and reason become superfluous in making the sale. You will be the new face of media. Good luck!
***Taken from: http://www.alterati.com/blog/?p=49
Credit to Mr Sueref for sending me the link to this..
